NT · Darwin Council
Nakara, 0810
Current weather
25.9°CClear sky
81% humidity · 10.5 km/h wind · 28.8° / 23.2° today · 1.3 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- High desirability
- Cycling
- Education hub
- Café precinct
Suburb profile
In Darwin, Nakara is a settled smaller community with a familiar suburban feel and good links to the wider city. Set in the wider countryside, it offers distance from the capital and a strong sense of place. Generous greenery runs through the area, from street trees to tucked-away reserves.
Residents are mostly families and working professionals, with a strong presence of young families throughout. Local shops and services cover the basics well, with more choice a short trip into neighbouring suburbs. Outdoor life is easy here, with generous parks and room for kids, dogs and weekend strolls.
Reasonable public transport access helps with commuting and getting around locally. Homes offer solid value for the lifestyle on offer.
The desirability score is around average, weighed down by weaker local dining and lifestyle amenities against similar metro suburbs, even with housing affordability and community and employment holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 1,906
- Median age
- 36
- Median household income / week
- $2,424
- Dwelling vacancy
- 5.3%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 33 of 617
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Employment rate
- 64.9%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 57 / 30 / 18
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 · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 3,013
- Against the person
- 1,009
- Against property
- 2,004
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 1,580.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 2 residents
- State safety percentile
- 58.2th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
- -31.9%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- 021 Serious Assault610
- 023 Common Assault150
- 061 Burglary - Dwelling (House Break-Ins), Actual129
- 07* Other Theft961
- 11 Property Damage Offences756
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- NT Police crime statistics (reporting region / SA2) — Northern Territory Police · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Monthly CSV; regional totals where suburb-level data unavailable
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 1,051
- Nakara Primary SchoolPrimary
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 · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Public transport
8 public transport stops in this suburb
- 29 Buchanan Tce
- 6 Ellengowan Drive
- 86 Dripstone Road
- Trower Road after Bradshaw Terrace
- opp 21 Macredie St
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Public transport stop coverage
Data sources & freshness
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
Amenities
9 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bicycle Parking
- Buchanan Terrace (018)Bus stop
- Dripstone Road (020)Bus stop
- Dripstone Road (021)Bus stop
- Ellengowan Drive (019)Bus stop
- Nakara Primary Bus StopBus stop
- Nakara Shops (017)Bus stop
- Trower Road (004)Bus stop
- Drinking water
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Harwood ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 8/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 7/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Childcare
2 childcare services from OpenStreetMap
- Nakara After School Carechildcare
- kindergartenkindergarten
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 8
- Parks (OSM)
- 8
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 features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 46.4/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 12% of Northern Territory's suburbs
- National rank
- 2220th in Australia
- State rank
- 19th in NT
- Peer rank
- #15 among Metro Darwin · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #16 among Metro Darwin suburbs
- Data confidence
- 80%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- 021 Serious Assaultcrime610
- 023 Common Assaultcrime150
- 061 Burglary - Dwelling (House Break-Ins), Actualcrime129
- 07* Other Theftcrime961
- 11 Property Damage Offencescrime756
- Nakara After School Carechildcarechildcare
- kindergartenchildcarekindergarten
- Harwood Parkgovernmentpark
- 29 Buchanan Tcetransport
- 6 Ellengowan Drivetransport
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Updated on site
- NT Police crime statistics (reporting region / SA2) — Northern Territory Police · Updated on site · Monthly CSV; regional totals where suburb-level data unavailable
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
More in Darwin Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Northern Territory.