Median house price
—
No data available
NT · MacDonnell Council
Hugh, 0872
Est. population · Jun 2025
1,082
Growth (1 yr)
+2.8%
Growth (5 yr)
+5.0%
Median age
35
Median income
$762/wk
Employment rate
8.3%
Languages at home
30.8%non-English
Most common: Australian Indigenous languages
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- National parks
- High desirability
Suburb profile
In MacDonnell Council, Hugh keeps a rural calm, a smaller community with room to breathe and a strong local rhythm. Working households and growing families are the backbone of local life. Overseas-born and multilingual households are a noticeable part of the local population.
Life here is grounded in local routine rather than big-city choice. Open space is thinner than in many regional towns, so residents often travel a little further for a longer park day. A car helps for most daily errands, with fewer amenities clustered within an easy walk.
Homes are relatively cheap compared with the wider market, which keeps entry costs lower. The suburb still has an emerging character, as newer residents settle in and local identity forms.
Versus similar regional towns, the suburb reads below average on desirability, chiefly because local dining and lifestyle amenities trail behind. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Hugh snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
1,082
+2.8% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
14.8%
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
#25
among Country & regional · Emerging
Pop. growth
92nd
percentile in NT
Advantage (IRSAD)
1/10
national SEIFA decile
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
- 16.7/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6852nd in Australia
- State rank
- 137th in NT
- Peer rank
- #25 among Country & regional · Emerging suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #73 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 35%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
1,082(June 2025)
+2.8% annual · +5.0% over 5 years · 92th percentile in NT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +2.8%
- 5-year growth
- +5.0%
- Change in 1 year
- +29
- Change in 5 years
- +52
- Growth rank in NT
- 92th 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 (~1,100), extrapolated at +0.7% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 895
- Median age
- 35
- Median household income / week
- $762
- Dwelling vacancy
- 14.8%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 19 of 128
- Median monthly mortgage
- $0
- Employment rate
- 8.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 90 / 0 / 0 (+ 12 other)
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.
Family & Lifestyle
Amenities
No OpenStreetMap amenities mapped for this suburb yet.
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
- Chamber's Pillar Historical ReserveNature reserve
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Health access
- Nearest hospital
- Alice Springs Hospital (68.4 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)
- 23
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 21.3
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
- 36° / 21°
- Rainfall
- 117 mm · ~15 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 29° / 14°
- Rainfall
- 78 mm · ~10 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 21° / 5°
- Rainfall
- 37 mm · ~5 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 31° / 15°
- Rainfall
- 56 mm · ~7 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- Overlay applies
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via state planning hazard mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- NT Fire Protection and Fire Management zones — Bushfires NT / Department of Lands, Planning and Environment · current · Updated · Shapefile boundaries (CC BY 4.0)
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Lingiari
- Member of Parliament
- Marion SCRYMGOUR (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 76,817
- Turnout (2025)
- 62.2%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +6.5 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 41.9%Labor 58.1%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 1099.8 km away).
Coalition 45.5%Labor 54.5%
3.6 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +7.3 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- IlparpaLabor 36.2% · Coalition 63.8% TPP (2025)68.9 km away
- LarapintaLabor 57.3% · Coalition 42.7% TPP (2025)71.8 km away
- GillenLabor 54.8% · Coalition 45.2% TPP (2025)72.3 km away
- Alice SpringsLabor 64.0% · Coalition 36.0% TPP (2025)73.5 km away
- SadadeenLabor 64.2% · Coalition 35.8% TPP (2025)74.5 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)
- 1/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 1/10
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
More in MacDonnell Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Northern Territory.