Median house price
—
No data available
NT · East Arnhem Council
Nhulunbuy, 0880
Est. population · Jun 2025
6,242
Growth (1 yr)
-0.4%
Growth (5 yr)
+5.2%
Median age
33
Median income
$2,777/wk
Employment rate
63.7%
Languages at home
15.9%non-English
Most common: Australian Indigenous languages, Malayalam, Gujarati
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Coastal
- Education hub
- High desirability
- Green suburb
Suburb profile
Well away from Darwin, Nhulunbuy is a coastal mid-sized suburb built around sand, sea and space. Regional towns and local services do more of the everyday heavy lifting than the city. Young professionals and new households shape much of the local mix, with family life visible on every street.
With limited local amenities, residents regularly travel to a neighbouring town for shops, appointments and a wider choice. A car helps for most daily errands, though buses still link the suburb further afield. Property sits in a premium price band and is harder to enter for many buyers.
An emerging neighbourhood feel is building here, with new households gradually reshaping local life.
Desirability lands below average here: softer local dining and lifestyle amenities, plus safety weighing on the result versus similar coastal suburbs, even with community and employment holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Nhulunbuy snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
6,242
-0.4% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
18.8%
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
#2
among Coastal & beach · Emerging
Pop. growth
2nd
percentile in NT
Advantage (IRSAD)
9/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
23rd
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
- 32.3/100 — Below average
- State standing
- Top 48% of Northern Territory's suburbs
- National rank
- 5197th in Australia
- State rank
- 77th in NT
- Peer rank
- #2 among Coastal & beach · Emerging suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #4 among Coastal & beach suburbs
- Data confidence
- 58%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
6,242(June 2025)
-0.4% annual · +5.2% over 5 years · 2th percentile in NT
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- -0.4%
- 5-year growth
- +5.2%
- Change in 1 year
- -23
- Change in 5 years
- +306
- Growth rank in NT
- 2th 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 (~5,950), extrapolated at -0.9% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 3,350
- Median age
- 33
- Median household income / week
- $2,777
- Dwelling vacancy
- 18.8%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 197 of 1,046
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,741
- Employment rate
- 63.7%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 722 / 64 / 45 (+ 11 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
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 3
- Median school ICSEA (3 schools)
- 946
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 23th
School list
- Nhulunbuy Christian CollegeCombined · Independent · ICSEA 1056 · 70th percentile · LBOTE 11% · 138 students · Top SEA quarter 29%View on My School →
- Nhulunbuy High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 903 · 11th percentile · LBOTE 31% · 279 students · Top SEA quarter 9%View on My School →
- Nhulunbuy Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 946 · 23th percentile · LBOTE 24% · 349 students · Top SEA quarter 13%View 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
Amenities
18 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
1 fast food · 1 playgrounds · 1 swimming pools
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Decent local green space — 2 parks in suburb, 1 playgrounds nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 4/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0.3
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 0.6
Food & drink(1)
- Captain Cook Take Away ShopFast food
Health & services(1)
- Nhulunbuy Heath CentreClinic
Unit Lot 1424 Arnhem Road, Nhulunbuy
Sport & outdoors(5)
- Rotary ParkPark
- Rotary Park Play GroundPlayground
- Rotary Park Basketball CourtSports field
- Sports field
- Swimming pool
Transport(1)
1 bus stops
Other(8)
- Rotary Park BBQBbq
- Gove WarehouseDoityourself
Arnhem Road, Nhulunbuy
- Drinking water
- Gove Peninsula MotelMotel
166 Mathew Flinders Way, Nhulunbuy
- Gove Peninsula MotelParking
- Gove Peninsula Motel Car ParkParking
- Parking (3)
- BIG NT Print ServicesTrade
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
Parks & reserves
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Rotary ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · 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
- Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
- 3
- Nearest hospital
- Gove District Hospital (1.8 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- On site
- Gove District HospitalMatthew Flinders WayHospital
- Nhulunbuy Heath CentreArnhem RoadClinic
- Nhulunbuy PharmacyPharmacy
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)
- 194
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 31.1
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
- 32° / 25°
- Rainfall
- 674 mm · ~84 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 31° / 24°
- Rainfall
- 547 mm · ~68 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 28° / 22°
- Rainfall
- 33 mm · ~4 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 31° / 23°
- Rainfall
- 45 mm · ~6 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 622.5 km away).
Coalition 57.4%Labor 42.6%
15.5 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +0.2 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- TindalLabor 49.4% · Coalition 50.6% TPP (2025)537.3 km away
- Katherine EastLabor 48.5% · Coalition 51.5% TPP (2025)544.8 km away
- Katherine NorthLabor 50.0% · Coalition 50.0% TPP (2025)546.5 km away
- Katherine SouthLabor 43.2% · Coalition 56.8% TPP (2025)549.5 km away
- Humpty DooLabor 37.6% · Coalition 62.4% TPP (2025)616.3 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)
- 9/10
- 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 East Arnhem Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile elsewhere in Northern Territory or interstate.