Median house price
—
No data available
ACT · Unincorporated ACT Council
Macarthur, 2904
Est. population · Jun 2025
1,375
Growth (1 yr)
-0.4%
Growth (5 yr)
-1.9%
Median age
39
Median income
$3,037/wk
Employment rate
67.8%
Languages at home
9%non-English
Most common: Greek, Mandarin, Arabic
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Education hub
- Heritage area
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Macarthur is a practical smaller community 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 a strong presence of young families throughout. Sport and recreation are easy to access, with local venues supporting active weekends and after-work routines.
Pocket parks and green corners give residents room to get outside without leaving the neighbourhood. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here, with buses covering longer trips across the wider area. Housing is expensive relative to much of the state.
Crime trends have improved of late compared with the previous period. The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
Desirability lands around average here: softer growth momentum weighing on the result versus similar metro suburbs, even with community and employment holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Macarthur snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
1,375
-0.4% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
1.8%
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
#63
among Metro Canberra · Established
Safety
9th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
17th
percentile in ACT
Advantage (IRSAD)
10/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
60th
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
- 40.3/100 — Average
- National rank
- 3712th in Australia
- State rank
- 103rd in ACT
- Peer rank
- #63 among Metro Canberra · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #102 among Metro Canberra suburbs
- Data confidence
- 77%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
1,375(June 2025)
-0.4% annual · -1.9% over 5 years · 17th percentile in ACT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- -0.4%
- 5-year growth
- -1.9%
- Change in 1 year
- -5
- Change in 5 years
- -26
- Growth rank in ACT
- 17th 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 (~1,350), extrapolated at -0.6% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 1,405
- Median age
- 39
- Median household income / week
- $3,037
- Dwelling vacancy
- 1.8%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 9 of 494
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,200
- Employment rate
- 67.8%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 475 / 14 / 0
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)
- 12
- Against the person
- 0
- Against property
- 12
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 8.7
- State safety percentile
- 8.8th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate)
- -45.3%
Most common offence types
- Property Damage3
- Burglary Dwellings3
- Burglary Other1
- Motor Vehicle Theft3
- 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
- 4
- Median school ICSEA (4 schools)
- 1,032.5
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 60th
School list
- Fadden Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1076 · 77th percentile · LBOTE 13% · 229 students · Top SEA quarter 34% · 1.2 km awayView on My School →
- Holy Family Primary SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 1076 · 77th percentile · LBOTE 9% · 641 students · Top SEA quarter 28% · 1.5 km awayView on My School →
- Gilmore Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 981 · 38th percentile · LBOTE 31% · 113 students · Top SEA quarter 13% · 1.6 km awayView on My School →
- Caroline Chisholm SchoolCombined · Government · ICSEA 989 · 42th percentile · LBOTE 19% · 571 students · Top SEA quarter 11% · 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
- Teddybears Childcare CentreCarson Streetchildcare
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · current · Updated
Amenities
61 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
2 playgrounds · 52 swimming pools
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Decent local green space — 2 parks in suburb, 2 playgrounds nearby
- Strong local sport and recreation — 55 sport and outdoor facilities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 2/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 1.42
Community(1)
- Teddybears Childcare CentreChildcare
50 Carson Street, Macarthur
Sport & outdoors(57)
- Park (2)
- Bayly Place Central Community PlaygroundPlayground
- Merriman Street Neighbourhood PlaygroundPlayground
- Sports field
- Swimming pool (52)
Transport(1)
1 bus stops
Other(1)
- Parking (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
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 2
- 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
Health access
- Nearest hospital
- Canberra Hospital (7.0 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
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)
- 33
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 24.0
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 (lodged 2020–2026).
4 planning-related records
2022· 2 proposals
October 2022
- SUBCMACARTHUR · TUGGERANONGCompleted
July 2022
- SUBCMACARTHUR · TUGGERANONGCompleted
2020· 2 proposals
April 2020
- SUBCMACARTHUR · TUGGERANONGCompleted
February 2020
- SUBCMACARTHUR · TUGGERANONGCompleted
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- Active & completed development applications — ACT Planning · 2020–2026 · Updated
Heritage
2 heritage places
- Aboriginal RecordingsCTC74 - Aboriginal Place or Object (not registered but protected under Heritage Act 2004)
- Aboriginal RecordingsCTC64 - Aboriginal Place or Object (not registered but protected under Heritage Act 2004)
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
- 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 4.1 km away).
Coalition 32.1%Labor 67.9%
1.4 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +7.2 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- FaddenLabor 69.0% · Coalition 31.0% TPP (2025)1.3 km away
- GilmoreLabor 65.0% · Coalition 35.0% TPP (2025)1.5 km away
- ChisholmLabor 67.5% · Coalition 32.5% TPP (2025)1.7 km away
- GowrieLabor 70.1% · Coalition 29.9% TPP (2025)2.2 km away
- RichardsonLabor 64.1% · Coalition 35.9% TPP (2025)3.1 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)
- 10/10
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.