Median house price
—
No data available
NT · Palmerston Council
Marlow Lagoon, 0830
Est. population · Jun 2025
827
Growth (1 yr)
+1.4%
Growth (5 yr)
+6.6%
Median age
39
Median income
$3,630/wk
Employment rate
76.6%
Languages at home
6.3%non-English
Most common: Thai, Greek
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Education hub
- Excellent transport
- High desirability
Suburb profile
In Palmerston Council, Marlow Lagoon is a settled smaller community with a familiar suburban feel and good links to the wider city. Distance from the metro area around Darwin is part of the appeal, with regional hubs closer to hand than the city. Working households and growing families are the backbone of local life, with a strong presence of young families throughout.
Dining is thinner on the ground than in busier metro pockets, so many residents head to neighbouring suburbs for a night out. Outdoor life is easy here, with generous parks and room for kids, dogs and weekend strolls. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here, with buses covering longer trips across the wider area.
Homes cost more here than in most comparable suburbs. The suburb still has an emerging character, as newer residents settle in and local identity forms.
The overall desirability read is below average, pulled by softer schools and education compared with similar metro suburbs, though community and employment, plus safety remain brighter spots. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Marlow Lagoon snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
827
+1.4% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
7.6%
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
#14
among Metro Darwin · Emerging
Pop. growth
67th
percentile in NT
Advantage (IRSAD)
10/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
8th
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
- 30.8/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 5454th in Australia
- State rank
- 80th in NT
- Peer rank
- #14 among Metro Darwin · Emerging suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #53 among Metro Darwin suburbs
- Data confidence
- 61%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
827(June 2025)
+1.4% annual · +6.6% over 5 years · 67th percentile in NT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +1.4%
- 5-year growth
- +6.6%
- Change in 1 year
- +11
- Change in 5 years
- +51
- Growth rank in NT
- 67th 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 (~900), extrapolated at +1.9% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 754
- Median age
- 39
- Median household income / week
- $3,630
- Dwelling vacancy
- 7.6%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 17 of 225
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,500
- Employment rate
- 76.6%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 211 / 0 / 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.
Family & Lifestyle
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 3
- Median school ICSEA (3 schools)
- 884
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 8th
School list
- Palmerston Christian CollegeCombined · Independent · ICSEA 1008 · 51th percentile · LBOTE 28% · 365 students · Top SEA quarter 9% · 1.0 km awayView on My School →
- Palmerston CollegeSecondary · Government · ICSEA 884 · 8th percentile · LBOTE 30% · 1,267 students · Top SEA quarter 4% · 1.5 km awayView on My School →
- Moulden Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 753 · 2th percentile · LBOTE 28% · 211 students · Top SEA quarter 1% · 1.8 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
Public transport
3 public transport stops in this suburb
- Catalina Rd Moulden
- Waler Rd at Palmerston Christian School
- Waler Rd/Marlow Lagoon
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Public transport stop coverage
Data sources & freshness
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · current · Updated
Amenities
48 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
6 playgrounds
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Great for outdoor family life — 1 parks mapped in suburb, 6 playgrounds nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 5/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 1.33
Community(1)
- Palmerston Christian SchoolSchool
50 Waler Road, Marlow Lagoon
Sport & outdoors(8)
- Park
- Playground (6)
- Sports field
Transport(1)
1 bus stops
Other(9)
- Artwork (2)
- Rainbow Serpent MuralArtwork
- Bbq (5)
- Bench (9)
- Drinking water
- Parking (5)
- Public toilets
- Shelter (12)
- 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
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 1
- Parks (OSM)
- 1
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
- Palmerston Regional Hospital (5.5 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
- 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
- 31° / 25°
- Rainfall
- 1,010 mm · ~90 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 31° / 24°
- Rainfall
- 491 mm · ~61 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 30° / 20°
- Rainfall
- 8 mm · ~1 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 32° / 24°
- Rainfall
- 171 mm · ~21 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
- Solomon
- Member of Parliament
- Luke John GOSLING (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 78,702
- Turnout (2025)
- 79.3%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- -7.1 pp toward Coalition
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 48.7%Labor 51.3%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 5.6 km away).
Coalition 53.1%Labor 46.9%
4.4 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: -6.9 pp toward Coalition
Nearest polling places
- DriverLabor 49.7% · Coalition 50.3% TPP (2025)1.7 km away
- GrayLabor 46.1% · Coalition 53.9% TPP (2025)2.5 km away
- DurackLabor 39.8% · Coalition 60.2% TPP (2025)2.9 km away
- BellamackLabor 47.5% · Coalition 52.5% TPP (2025)3.2 km away
- PalmerstonLabor 48.3% · Coalition 51.7% TPP (2025)3.5 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)
- 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.
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