Median house price
—
No data available
NT · Katherine Council
Katherine East, 0850
Est. population · Jun 2025
3,624
Growth (1 yr)
+0.9%
Growth (5 yr)
+5.0%
Median age
30
Median income
$2,075/wk
Employment rate
61.9%
Languages at home
23.7%non-English
Most common: Australian Indigenous languages, Nepali, Tagalog
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- High desirability
- Education hub
- National parks
Suburb profile
Katherine East is a regional mid-sized suburb in Katherine Council, oriented around local life rather than the metro orbit of Darwin. Neighbouring centres cover more of the weekly rhythm than the distant capital does. A younger crowd gives the area energy, with a strong presence of young families throughout.
The town centre holds its own, with enough local flavour to make staying close to home appealing. Local parks and tree cover add a welcome outdoor dimension to suburban life. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here than in denser, more walkable pockets.
Housing sits in the middle of the local market: neither cheap nor premium. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
Against similar regional towns, the suburb sits around average overall, mainly because local dining and lifestyle amenities, plus community and employment lag behind, despite relative strength in safety. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Katherine East snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
3,624
+0.9% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
16.0%
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
#6
among Country & regional · Established
Pop. growth
47th
percentile in NT
Advantage (IRSAD)
4/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
19th
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
- 41.6/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 33% of Northern Territory's suburbs
- National rank
- 3489th in Australia
- State rank
- 52nd in NT
- Peer rank
- #6 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #12 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 60%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
3,624(June 2025)
+0.9% annual · +5.0% over 5 years · 47th percentile in NT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +0.9%
- 5-year growth
- +5.0%
- Change in 1 year
- +31
- Change in 5 years
- +171
- Growth rank in NT
- 47th 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 (~3,700), extrapolated at +0.5% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 3,061
- Median age
- 30
- Median household income / week
- $2,075
- Dwelling vacancy
- 16%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 182 of 1,135
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,517
- Employment rate
- 61.9%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 789 / 151 / 3
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
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 4
- Median school ICSEA (4 schools)
- 885.5
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 19th
School list
- Katherine High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 797 · 3th percentile · LBOTE 47% · 468 students · Top SEA quarter 5% · 0.6 km awayView on My School →
- MacFarlane Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 665 · 1th percentile · LBOTE 91% · 189 students · Top SEA quarter 0% · 0.7 km awayView on My School →
- Casuarina Street Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 991 · 42th percentile · LBOTE 29% · 295 students · Top SEA quarter 16% · 0.8 km awayView on My School →
- St Joseph's Catholic CollegeCombined · Catholic · ICSEA 974 · 35th percentile · LBOTE 12% · 299 students · Top SEA quarter 13% · 1.4 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
2 childcare services from OpenStreetMap
- Casuarina Street Pre SchoolCasuarina Streetkindergarten
- MacFarlane Pre Schoolkindergarten
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · current · Updated
Amenities
47 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
1 restaurants · 1 places of worship · 1 playgrounds · 1 swimming pools
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Decent local green space — 6 parks in suburb, 1 playgrounds nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 2/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0.33
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 1.96
Food & drink(1)
- Jen's KitchenRestaurant
Shopping(1)
- Eastside MinimartConvenience store
Community(8)
- Casuarina Street Pre SchoolKindergarten
Casuarina Street
- MacFarlane Pre SchoolKindergarten
- Casuarina Street Primary SchoolSchool
- Katherine High SchoolSchool
- MacFarlane Pre SchoolSchool
Grevillea Road
- MacFarlane Primary SchoolSchool
- St Joseph Primary SchoolSchool
- St Joseph Secondary CollegeSchool
Sport & outdoors(9)
- Park (6)
- Playground
- Sports field
- Swimming pool
Entertainment(1)
- Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture CentreArts centre
3238 Stuart Highway
Other(9)
- NutrienAgrarian
- Power clean NT - KatherineCar
3 Palmer Street
- Mitre 10Doityourself
- Katherine Fire StationFire station
Chardon Street, Katherine East
- Ibis Styles KatherineHotel
- Parking (14)
- Heritage Christian ChurchPlace of worship
- Katherine Police StationPolice
- Shelter (6)
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)
- 8
- Parks (OSM)
- 6
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
1 places of worship within ~1.5 km
- Heritage Christian Church
From OpenStreetMap within ~1.5 km of the suburb centre.
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Nearest hospital
- Katherine Hospital (2.7 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)
- 130
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 35.9
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
- 34° / 24°
- Rainfall
- 681 mm · ~85 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 34° / 21°
- Rainfall
- 203 mm · ~25 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 32° / 16°
- Rainfall
- 8 mm · ~1 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 37° / 23°
- Rainfall
- 142 mm · ~18 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
- No overlay at centroid
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 254.5 km away).
Coalition 51.6%Labor 48.4%
9.7 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +8.2 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- Katherine EastLabor 48.5% · Coalition 51.5% TPP (2025)1.3 km away
- Katherine NorthLabor 50.0% · Coalition 50.0% TPP (2025)2.1 km away
- Katherine SouthLabor 43.2% · Coalition 56.8% TPP (2025)3.7 km away
- TindalLabor 49.4% · Coalition 50.6% TPP (2025)12.5 km away
- Berry SpringsLabor 36.1% · Coalition 63.9% TPP (2025)239.8 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)
- 4/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 3/10
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 Katherine Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Northern Territory.