Median house price
—
No data available
ACT · Unincorporated ACT Council
Calwell, 2905
Est. population · Jun 2025
5,601
Growth (1 yr)
-1.2%
Growth (5 yr)
-3.6%
Median age
37
Median income
$2,460/wk
Employment rate
68.9%
Languages at home
14%non-English
Most common: Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- National parks
- Education hub
- High desirability
- Café precinct
- Heritage area
Suburb profile
Calwell is a practical mid-sized suburb in Unincorporated ACT, well placed for families who want metro access without the inner-city squeeze. Families and commuters make up much of the community, with plenty of young families in the mix. Dining is thinner on the ground than in busier metro pockets, so many residents head to neighbouring suburbs for a night out.
Green space punches above what many metro suburbs offer, with parks and playgrounds woven through the suburb. Daily life works well on foot, with buses also serving the suburb. Homes cost more here than in most comparable suburbs.
Crime trends have improved of late compared with the previous period. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
Against similar metro suburbs, community and employment stand out and the overall desirability rating is good, with growth momentum less decisive.
At a glance
Calwell snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
5,601
-1.2% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
3.9%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Livability profile
Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)
How it compares
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Desirability
#46
among Metro Canberra · Established
Safety
58th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
3rd
percentile in ACT
Advantage (IRSAD)
9/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
44th
percentile among schools with ICSEA
Population growth
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Housing mix
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Risks & flags
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Living here
Desirability
Ranks & confidence
- Desirability score
- 55.1/100 — Good
- National rank
- 1553rd in Australia
- State rank
- 74th in ACT
- Peer rank
- #46 among Metro Canberra · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #74 among Metro Canberra suburbs
- Data confidence
- 82%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
5,601(June 2025)
-1.2% annual · -3.6% over 5 years · 3th percentile in ACT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- -1.2%
- 5-year growth
- -3.6%
- Change in 1 year
- -68
- Change in 5 years
- -211
- Growth rank in ACT
- 3th percentile
ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.
Methodology
Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.
The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~5,450), extrapolated at -0.6% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 5,730
- Median age
- 37
- Median household income / week
- $2,460
- Dwelling vacancy
- 3.9%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 81 of 2,096
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Employment rate
- 68.9%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 1,751 / 213 / 53
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries
Community & culture
No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.
Offence counts & rates
- Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
- 113
- Against the person
- 26
- Against property
- 42
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 20.2
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 220 residents
- State safety percentile
- 58.4th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate)
- -52.4%
Most common offence types
- Assault - Non-Fv11
- Other Offences45
- Property Damage10
- Sexual Assault7
- Theft (Excluding Motor Vehicles)21
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- ACT crime statistics by suburb (quarterly) — ACT Policing / dataACT · Jan 2024 to Dec 2024 → Jan 2025 to Dec 2025; Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 · Updated · Quarterly XLSX release
Family & Lifestyle
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 6
- Median school ICSEA (6 schools)
- 992
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 44th
School list
- Calwell Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1010 · 52th percentile · LBOTE 17% · 201 students · Top SEA quarter 15% · 0.3 km awayView on My School →
- Calwell High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 972 · 34th percentile · LBOTE 20% · 371 students · Top SEA quarter 8% · 1.0 km awayView on My School →
- St Francis of Assisi Primary SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 1055 · 70th percentile · LBOTE 10% · 516 students · Top SEA quarter 23% · 1.1 km awayView on My School →
- Richardson Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 952 · 25th percentile · LBOTE 21% · 142 students · Top SEA quarter 6% · 1.4 km awayView on My School →
- Covenant Christian SchoolCombined · Independent · ICSEA 1090 · 81th percentile · LBOTE 54% · 320 students · Top SEA quarter 33% · 1.6 km awayView on My School →
- Theodore Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 974 · 35th percentile · LBOTE 12% · 206 students · Top SEA quarter 9% · 1.7 km awayView on My School →
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
Childcare
1 childcare service from OpenStreetMap
- Anglicare - Calwell Early Childcarechildcare
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · current · Updated
Amenities
87 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
1 restaurants · 2 bars · 1 supermarkets · 1 pharmacies · 1 fast food · 3 places of worship · 6 playgrounds · 1 petrol stations
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Highly walkable for everyday errands
- Great for outdoor family life — 2 parks mapped in suburb, 6 playgrounds nearby
- Well connected by public transport — 29 public transport stops
- Strong local sport and recreation — 9 sport and outdoor facilities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 78/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0.7
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 0.35
Food & drink(4)
- Calwell ClubBar
- Grans BurrowBar
1 Webber Crescent
- Domino'sFast food
- Grand CourtRestaurant
Shopping(3)
- Canberra Quality MeatsButcher
7 Webber Crescent
- WoolworthsSupermarket
Community(4)
- Anglicare - Calwell Early ChildcareChildcare
- Calwell High SchoolSchool
- Calwell Primary SchoolSchool
- St Francis of Assisi Primary SchoolSchool
Health & services(3)
- Ochre Health CalwellMedical clinic
- Capital Chemist CalwellPharmacy
- Greencross VetVeterinary
Sport & outdoors(11)
- Calwell ReservePark
- Park
- Beckett Street Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Calwell Shopping Centre PlaygroundPlayground
- Casey Crescent Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Mountain Circuit Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Samuel Close PlaygroundPlayground
- Were Street Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Callwell District Playing FieldsSports field
- OvalSports field
- Sports field
Transport(29)
29 bus stops
Other(18)
- Patto's Grog ShopAlcohol
- ATM
- Calwell Car CareCar repair
- Pit Stop Car ShopCar wash
11
- Drinking water (3)
- ACT Fire & Rescue South TuggeranongFire station
Tharwa Drive
- Calwell Shopping CentreMall
- Nature Reserve
- Parking (15)
- FoodaryPetrol station
Were Street
- Alliance ChurchPlace of worship
- Sacred Heart ChurchPlace of worship
- St Mary In The ValleyPlace of worship
- Post Box
- Calwell Post OfficePost office
- Calwell Shoe RepairsShoe Repair
- Bupa Aged Care CalwellSocial Facility
- Aquatic Achievers CalwellSwimming School
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Parks & reserves
2 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Calwell ReservePark
- Park or reserveNature reserve
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 4
- Parks (OSM)
- 2
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Places of worship
3 places of worship within ~1.5 km
- Alliance Church
- Sacred Heart Church
- St Mary In The Valley
From OpenStreetMap within ~1.5 km of the suburb centre.
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
- 2
- Nearest hospital
- Canberra Hospital (10.4 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- Not in suburb
- Capital Chemist CalwellPharmacy
- Ochre Health CalwellDoctor
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
NDIS participation
- NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
- 164
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 29.3
Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.
For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.
Data sources & freshness
- NDIS participants by SA2 — National Disability Insurance Agency · 2026-Q1 · Updated · Quarterly SA2 counts allocated to suburb boundaries
Weather
Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.
Summer (Dec–Feb)
- Usual max / min
- 25° / 10°
- Rainfall
- 168 mm · ~21 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 19° / 5°
- Rainfall
- 142 mm · ~18 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 11° / -2°
- Rainfall
- 105 mm · ~13 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 18° / 4°
- Rainfall
- 161 mm · ~20 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
Planning & development
Development applications from ACT planning register.
2026· 3 proposals
July 2026
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGActive
March 2026
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
January 2026
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
2025· 2 proposals
September 2025
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
January 2025
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGActive
2024· 2 proposals
September 2024
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
March 2024
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
2023· 8 proposals
December 2023
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
October 2023
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
August 2023
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
May 2023
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
April 2023
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
March 2023
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
2022· 11 proposals
November 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
September 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
August 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
June 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
May 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
March 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
February 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
January 2022
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
2021· 4 proposals
September 2021
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
August 2021
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
May 2021
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
April 2021
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
2020· 6 proposals
December 2020
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
October 2020
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
September 2020
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
August 2020
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
May 2020
- SUBCCALWELL · TUGGERANONGCompleted
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- Active & completed development applications — ACT Planning · 2026 · Updated
Heritage
1 heritage place
- Sacred Heart ChurchSt Mary in the Valley3 - Registered Places or Objects
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · current · Updated
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- Overlay applies
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via ACT Bushfire Prone Area (SBMP) mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Bean
- Member of Parliament
- David SMITH (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 113,876
- Turnout (2025)
- 92.5%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +6.3 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 30.7%Labor 69.3%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 2.5 km away).
Coalition 34.8%Labor 65.2%
4.1 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +5.9 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- CalwellLabor 67.9% · Coalition 32.1% TPP (2025)1.1 km away
- Gordon NorthLabor 56.0% · Coalition 44.0% TPP (2025)1.5 km away
- TheodoreLabor 65.1% · Coalition 34.9% TPP (2025)1.6 km away
- RichardsonLabor 64.1% · Coalition 35.9% TPP (2025)1.7 km away
- Conder NorthLabor 64.1% · Coalition 35.9% TPP (2025)1.9 km away
Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.
Data sources & freshness
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
Socio-economic
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 9/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 9/10
ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?
IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.
IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.
A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
Compare with
Similar suburbs to weigh up side by side — scores, safety, schools, and lifestyle.
More in Unincorporated ACT Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile elsewhere in Australian Capital Territory or interstate.