Median house price
—
No data available
ACT · Unincorporated ACT Council
Cook, 2614
Est. population · Jun 2025
2,918
Growth (1 yr)
+1.0%
Growth (5 yr)
+1.8%
Median age
42
Median income
$2,269/wk
Employment rate
62.4%
Languages at home
15.7%non-English
Most common: Spanish, French, Mandarin
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Education hub
- High desirability
- Heritage area
Suburb profile
In Unincorporated ACT, Cook is a settled mid-sized suburb with a familiar suburban feel and good links to the wider city. Established families and long-term residents give the suburb a settled feel, with plenty of young families in the mix. Local schools rate highly against similar suburbs.
Green space punches above what many metro suburbs offer, with parks and playgrounds woven through the suburb. Reasonably walkable — many errands reachable on foot or by bus, and buses help with longer trips. Homes cost more here than in most comparable suburbs.
Reported crime has been falling recently. This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.
Community and employment, plus growth momentum push the suburb to a good desirability read, even as local dining and lifestyle amenities look more ordinary among similar metro suburbs.
At a glance
Cook snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
2,918
+1.0% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
5.5%
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
#10
among Metro Canberra · Established
Safety
21st
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
66th
percentile in ACT
Advantage (IRSAD)
10/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
88th
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
- 67.8/100 — Good
- State standing
- Top 11% of Australian Capital Territory's suburbs
- National rank
- 347th in Australia
- State rank
- 11th in ACT
- Peer rank
- #10 among Metro Canberra · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #11 among Metro Canberra suburbs
- Data confidence
- 75%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
2,918(June 2025)
+1.0% annual · +1.8% over 5 years · 66th percentile in ACT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +1.0%
- 5-year growth
- +1.8%
- Change in 1 year
- +30
- Change in 5 years
- +51
- Growth rank in ACT
- 66th 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 (~2,900), extrapolated at -0.1% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 2,965
- Median age
- 42
- Median household income / week
- $2,269
- Dwelling vacancy
- 5.5%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 72 of 1,311
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Employment rate
- 62.4%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 746 / 448 / 35
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)
- 33
- Against the person
- 6
- Against property
- 8
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 11.3
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 494 residents
- State safety percentile
- 21.2th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate)
- -42.9%
Most common offence types
- Assault - Fv3
- Assault - Non-Fv2
- Other Offences19
- Property Damage4
- Theft (Excluding Motor Vehicles)2
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
- 5
- Median school ICSEA (5 schools)
- 1,117
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 88th
School list
- St Vincent's Primary SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 1117 · 88th percentile · LBOTE 37% · 195 students · Top SEA quarter 47% · 1.1 km awayView on My School →
- Canberra High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 1100 · 84th percentile · LBOTE 37% · 898 students · Top SEA quarter 45% · 1.2 km awayView on My School →
- Aranda Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1159 · 96th percentile · LBOTE 31% · 517 students · Top SEA quarter 65% · 1.3 km awayView on My School →
- Macquarie Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1070 · 75th percentile · LBOTE 45% · 291 students · Top SEA quarter 37% · 1.3 km awayView on My School →
- Weetangera Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1117 · 88th percentile · LBOTE 33% · 404 students · Top SEA quarter 48% · 2.0 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
Amenities
143 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
1 cafes · 1 pubs · 1 supermarkets · 2 places of worship · 5 playgrounds · 45 swimming pools
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Reasonably walkable — many errands reachable on foot or by bus
- Great for outdoor family life — 9 parks mapped in suburb, 5 playgrounds nearby
- Well connected by public transport — 19 public transport stops
- Strong local sport and recreation — 52 sport and outdoor facilities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 58/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0.34
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0.67
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 3.04
Food & drink(2)
- Little OinkCafe
22 Cook Place
- To all my friendsPub
22 Cook Place
Shopping(1)
- The Cook GrocerSupermarket
27 Cook Place
Community(4)
- CanberraCommunity centre
Templeton Street
- Cook Community HubCommunity centre
- Emma Ruby HouseCommunity centre
- Playgroups ACTCommunity centre
Sport & outdoors(61)
- Park (8)
- Pat Rubly ParkPark
- Clisby Close Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Dexter Street-Bourne Street Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Lyttleton Crescent Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Playground
- Teague Place Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Cook Neighbourhood Oval (Cook 1)Sports field
- Sports field
- Swimming pool (45)
Transport(19)
19 bus stops
Other(20)
- Bbq
- Bench (21)
- Bicycle Parking (2)
- Holistic TherapiesCounselling
- Drinking water (2)
- Fitness Station
- Garden (2)
- Jina's Hair DressingHairdresser
- Canberra JewellerJewelry
20 Cook Place
- Cook ShopsMall
- Parking (10)
- Parking Entrance
- Picnic Table (2)
- Holy Covenant Anglican ChurchPlace of worship
89 Dexter Street
- Westminster Presbyterian ChurchPlace of worship
61 Templeton Street
- Australia PostPost Box
- Public toilets
- Prestige OystersSeafood
26 Cook Place
- Track (3)
- Waste Basket (2)
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
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Pat Rubly ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 11
- Parks (OSM)
- 9
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
2 places of worship within ~1.5 km
- Holy Covenant Anglican Church
89 Dexter Street
- Westminster Presbyterian Church
61 Templeton Street
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
- 1
- Nearest hospital
- North Canberra Hospital (2.3 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- Not in suburb
- Holistic TherapiesCounselling
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)
- 81
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 27.8
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
- 27° / 12°
- Rainfall
- 171 mm · ~21 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 21° / 7°
- Rainfall
- 169 mm · ~21 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 12° / 1°
- Rainfall
- 183 mm · ~23 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 19° / 6°
- Rainfall
- 212 mm · ~26 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
August 2026
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENActive
July 2026
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENActive
May 2026
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
2025· 7 proposals
November 2025
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
August 2025
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
June 2025
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
March 2025
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
January 2025
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
2024· 6 proposals
October 2024
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
May 2024
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
April 2024
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
March 2024
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
February 2024
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
2023· 4 proposals
October 2023
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
March 2023
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
February 2023
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
January 2023
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
2022· 11 proposals
December 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
November 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
October 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
September 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
August 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
July 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
April 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
March 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
January 2022
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
2021· 6 proposals
November 2021
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
October 2021
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
September 2021
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
July 2021
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
June 2021
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
February 2021
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
2020· 6 proposals
August 2020
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
July 2020
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
May 2020
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
April 2020
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
- SUBCCOOK · BELCONNENCompleted
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- Active & completed development applications — ACT Planning · 2026 · Updated
Heritage
3 heritage places
- Evans House62 Skinner St1 - Nomination to the Heritage Register
- Wybalena Grove Precinct 2 - Provisionally Registered
- Wybalena Grove Precinct 2 - Provisionally Registered
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · current · Updated
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
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
- Canberra
- Member of Parliament
- Alicia PAYNE (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 102,942
- Turnout (2025)
- 92.7%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +4.0 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 23.6%Labor 76.4%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 5.5 km away).
Coalition 18.1%Labor 81.9%
5.5 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +6.8 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- Macquarie (Canberra)Labor 82.2% · Coalition 17.8% TPP (2025)1.2 km away
- ArandaLabor 85.3% · Coalition 14.7% TPP (2025)1.4 km away
- Weetangera (Canberra)Labor 77.4% · Coalition 22.6% TPP (2025)2.0 km away
- Belconnen (Canberra)Labor 82.1% · Coalition 17.9% TPP (2025)2.4 km away
- BruceLabor 80.5% · Coalition 19.5% TPP (2025)2.5 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)
- 10/10
- 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
This suburb ranks highly for
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.