suburb.guide

NT · Barkly Council

Tennant Creek, 0860

Est. population · Jun 2025

3,599

Growth (1 yr)

-0.1%

Growth (5 yr)

+3.7%

Median age

33

Median income

$1,677/wk

Employment rate

46.9%

University qualified

15%

Work from home

2.7%

Languages at home

39.8%non-English

Most common: Australian Indigenous languages, Nepali, Malayalam

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

41.5/100
Average

Top 29% of Northern Territory's suburbs

Verified 85% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Education hub
  • Holiday parks
  • Green suburb
  • Regional centre
What Tennant Creek is known for: Education hub, Holiday parks, Green suburb, Regional centre

Using this data? Cite or embed. Publishers

Suburb snapshot infographic

Download PNG
Tennant Creek, NT suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Embed this snapshot

The image links to the canonical suburb page. Copy the HTML as-is.

Tennant Creek, NT suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Cite this suburb snapshot

Suburb Guide, “Tennant Creek, NT Suburb Guide”, updated 1 October 2026, https://suburb.guide/nt/tennant-creek

No registration is required. Please keep the link to the suburb page.

Suburb profile

Tennant Creek is a major regional centre in the Northern Territory, in Barkly Council, with mainly mixed commercial and residential development. It has a university campus.

Everyday destinations are relatively walkable, well above typical levels for major regional centres. Local amenity access is stronger than in most comparable places, with local amenities 94% above the peer median. Health access is a very strong feature of the suburb, with health access 50% above the peer median. Crime in the wider Tennant Creek reporting region remains above typical levels but is improving. Reported offences have fallen 35% year on year. The main trade-offs are lower school ICSEA scores and lower socio-economic advantage.

Overall, Tennant Creek suits people prioritising walkability and local amenities over school quality.

Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Major regional centre · compared with major regional centres in Northern Territory (33)

Strengths

  • Everyday destinations are relatively walkable
  • Local amenity access is stronger than in most comparable places
  • Health access is a relative strength

Weaknesses

  • Local school ICSEA scores sit below those of comparable places
  • Socio-economic advantage sits below the peer median

What stands out

  • Overseas-born and multilingual community
  • University campus
  • Crime in the wider Tennant Creek reporting region remains above typical levels but is improving

Who it suits

  • Families
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • Students
  • Budget buyersInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How Tennant Creek compares

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

—

No data available

Median rent (Census)

$180/wk

2021 Census median weekly rent

Population (ERP)

3,599

-0.1% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

16.7%

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

#7

among Country & regional · Established

Pop. growth

3rd

percentile in NT

Rented dwellings

72%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

1/10

national SEIFA decile

School ICSEA

2nd

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
41.5/100 — Average
State standing
Top 29% of Northern Territory's suburbs
National rank
4035th in Australia
State rank
46th in NT
Peer rank
#7 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
Cohort rank
#8 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
85%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Population

Estimated resident population

3,599(June 2025)

-0.1% annual · +3.7% over 5 years · 3th percentile in NT

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
-0.1%
5-year growth
+3.7%
Change in 1 year
-3
Change in 5 years
+127
Growth rank in NT
3th 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 (~3,650), extrapolated at +0.1% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
3,080
Median age
33
Median household income / week
$1,677
Dwelling vacancy
16.7%
Unoccupied private dwellings
189 of 1,133
Median monthly mortgage
$1,114
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$180
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
13.4% / 14.9% / 71.7%
Employment rate
46.9%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
2.7% / 0% / 71.4%
Walked or cycled to work
15.8%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
758 / 108 / 53 (+ 21 other)

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)

Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted 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

Qualifications

15% of adults have a university degree, compared with 21.4% across Northern Territory. 12.1% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified15% · 21.4% NT
  • Diploma qualified6.9% · 7.5% NT
  • Trade / vocational12.1% · 16.1% NT
  • Year 12 or below66% · 55% NT

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Society and culture20.2%
  • Health18%
  • Management and commerce16.2%
  • Engineering and related technologies13.5%
  • Education11%
  • Architecture and building6.6%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below

People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

University qualifications from the 2021 Census

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Tax & income

Median taxable income (2023–24)
$63,754

35th percentile in NT · +9% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$66,284

27th percentile in NT · +2% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
12.0%

38th percentile in NT · -13% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$28,260

21st percentile in NT · -55% vs Australia

Residents with business income
5.0%

32nd percentile in NT · -52% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 0860 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.

Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
1,398
Taxpayers reporting net rent
164
Median net rent
-$896
Taxpayers reporting business income
64
Taxable income vs state median
-5%
Salary / wages vs state median
-7%
Rental investment vs state median
-14%
Super vs state median
-47%
Business income vs state median
-29%

Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in NT, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.

Data sources & freshness

  • Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary

Community & culture

39.8% speak a language other than English at home; 16.5% born overseas

Language at home
1,630 English only · 1,079 other
Non-English at home
39.8%
Born overseas
461 (16.5%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
1,707 (55.4%)
Australian citizens
2,502
Languages spoken at home (other than English)
16

Top languages other than English

Share of residents who speak a language other than English at home (2021 Census).

  • Australian Indigenous languages346 · 73.8%
  • Nepali19 · 4.1%
  • Malayalam18 · 3.8%
  • Punjabi11 · 2.3%
  • Tagalog10 · 2.1%
  • Hindi9 · 1.9%
  • Thai9 · 1.9%
  • Mandarin8 · 1.7%

Religion

41.8%Most common religion · Christianity

Christianity is the most common response at 41.8%, while 36.8% reported no religion.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion36.8%38.1%
Christianity41.8%40.5%
Other / not stated21.4%21.5%
Christian denominations
DenominationSuburbState
Catholic13%16.9%
Other Protestant8.5%0.9%
Christian (not further defined)5.1%3.2%
Baptist4.1%2.4%
Anglican3.7%6%

2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Figures are for the Tennant Creek reporting region, not this suburb alone.

Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2026 to Sep 2026)
742
Against the person
263
Against property
479
Rate per 1,000 residents (annualised)
278.8
State crime-rate percentile
90.7th (higher = more crime)
Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
-27%

Most common offence types

  • 021 Serious Assault
  • 061 Burglary - Dwelling (House Break-Ins), Actual
  • 062 Burglary - Non-Residential (Commercial Break-Ins), Actual
  • 07* Other Theft
  • 11 Property Damage Offences

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

  • NT Police crime statistics (reporting region / SA2) — Northern Territory Police · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Sep 2026; Jan 2026 to Sep 2026 · Updated · Monthly CSV; regional totals where suburb-level data unavailable

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
2
Median school ICSEA (2 schools)
743
Median ICSEA percentile
2th
School list
  • Tennant Creek Primary SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 732 · 2th percentile · LBOTE 63% · 309 students · Top SEA quarter 3% · 0.6 km awayView on My School →
  • Tennant Creek High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 754 · 2th percentile · LBOTE 66% · 142 students · Top SEA quarter 5% · 1.6 km awayView on My School →

Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)

Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts

Data sources & freshness

Amenities

99 mapped amenities

1 restaurants · 1 cafes · 4 pubs · 1 supermarkets · 1 pharmacies · 2 fast food · 1 libraries · 3 places of worship

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Reasonably walkable — many shops and services reachable on foot or by bus
  • Decent local green space — 6 parks in suburb, 1 playgrounds nearby
  • Strong local sport and recreation — 8 sport and outdoor facilities nearby
Walkability proxy
56/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0.32
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
2.6
Parks per 1,000 residents
1.95
Food & drink(8)
  • Nyinkka Nyunyu Coffee ShopCafe
  • Mr Perry'sFast food
  • Rocky's Pizza & Fat KebabFast food
  • Goldfields HotelPub
  • Memorial ClubPub
  • Pub

    Paterson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Tennant Creek HotelPub
  • Fernandos's RestaurantRestaurant
Shopping(5)
  • Headframe Bottle ShopBottle shop
  • Barkly Quality ButchersButcher
  • Mark's ArcadeShopping centre
  • Food BarnSupermarket
Everyday services(6)
  • ANZBank
  • WestpacBank
  • Central Service StationPetrol station

    Paterson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Mobil Lone StarPetrol station

    1192 Paterson Street

  • Australia PostPost office

    Paterson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Tennant Creek Post OfficePost office
Community(8)
  • Julakari Aboriginal CorporationCommunity centre
  • Julakari Community Service CentreCommunity centre
  • Youth CentreCommunity centre
  • Library
  • Tennant Creek Primary SchoolSchool
  • Barkly ShireTownhall
  • Civic CentreTownhall
  • Townhall
Health & services(3)
  • Tennant Creek HospitalHospital
  • Royal Flying Doctor ServiceMedical clinic
  • Pharmacy
Sport & outdoors(15)
  • Kathleen ParkPark
  • Nelson ParkPark

    Ambrose Street, Tennant Creek

  • Park (2)
  • Peko ParkPark
  • Tarca ParkPark

    30 Haddock Street

  • Playground
  • Public toilets
  • Sports centre (2)
  • Bowls ClubSports field
  • Sports field
  • Swimming pool (3)
Camping & holiday parks(4)
  • Jabaljarri Indigenous Art Gallery CampgroundCampground

    Fazaldeen Road

  • Caravan park
  • Outback Caravan ParkCaravan park
  • Tennant Creek Caravan ParkCaravan park

    Paterson Street

Places to stay(2)
  • Bluestone Motor InnMotel

    1 Paterson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Safari LodgeMotel
Entertainment(1)
  • Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural CentreArts centre
Other(32)
  • Bicycle Parking (6)
  • GreyhoundBus Station
  • Car repair
  • Paul Talbot MechanicCar repair
  • Outback FashionsClothes
  • Outback OutfittersClothes
  • College
  • Tennant Creek Training CentreCollege
  • Court HouseCourthouse
  • Tennant Creek Fire StationFire station

    49 Thompson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Orlando FurnishersFurniture
  • Jabaljarri Indigenous Art GalleryGallery

    Fazaldeen Road

  • Hairdresser (2)
  • Newsagent
  • Parking

    47 Ambrose Street

  • Parking (11)
  • Place of worship
  • Place of worship

    Paterson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Place of worship

    Standley Street, Tennant Creek

  • Tennant Creek Police StationPolice
  • Barkly Shire OfficesPublic Building
  • Public Building
  • Shelter
  • Arnhem ExplorationTravel Agency
  • Charles Darwin UniversityUniversity
  • EmporiumVariety Store
  • Little RippersVariety Store
  • Nik-NaxVariety Store
  • Salmon's WarehouseVariety Store
  • Weigh BridgeWeighbridge
  • Tallis Security ServiceYes
  • Tennant Creek PrintersYes

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Sporting clubs

1 named sporting club in this suburb

  • Bowls Club

    Lawn Bowls

Named sporting clubs from OpenStreetMap, assigned to this suburb's boundary. Sporting facilities such as ovals, courts and recreation centres are listed under Amenities.

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap sporting clubs — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Geofabrik australia-latest.osm.pbf

Parks & reserves

3 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Kathleen ParkPark
  • Nelson ParkPark
  • Peko ParkPark

Data sources & freshness

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
0%
Woodland / forest cover
0%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
6
Parks (OSM)
6
Typical summer maximum
37°C

Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)

Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries

Places of worship

3 places of worship within ~1.5 km

  • Place of worship
  • Place of worship

    Paterson Street, Tennant Creek

  • Place of worship

    Standley Street, Tennant Creek

From OpenStreetMap within ~1.5 km of the suburb centre.

Data sources & freshness

Health access

Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
3
Nearest hospital
Tennant Creek Hospital (0.8 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
Emergency department in suburb
On site
GP clinics in suburb
1
GPs tagged bulk billing (OSM)
0 of 1
Aged-care services
3
Residential aged-care places
25

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

  • Royal Flying Doctor ServiceGP
  • PharmacyPharmacy
  • Tennant Creek HospitalHospital
Aged-care services
  • Barkly Aged and Disability ServicesTENNANT CREEKNational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Program
  • Julalikari Council Aboriginal CorporationTENNANT CREEKHome Care
  • Pulkapulkka Kari Nursing Home and HostelTENNANT CREEKNational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Program

Australian Government–subsidised services from the AIHW GEN list (30 June 2025), assigned to this suburb by location.

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
124
Participants per 1,000 residents
34.5

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

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
37° / 25°
Rainfall
234 mm · ~29 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
31° / 19°
Rainfall
62 mm · ~8 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
26° / 12°
Rainfall
10 mm · ~1 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
34° / 20°
Rainfall
57 mm · ~7 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

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. Flood cover uses inundation polygons against the suburb boundary where published.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

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 611.4 km away).

Coalition 46.3%Labor 53.7%

4.5 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +5.5 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • BraitlingLabor 53.2% · Coalition 46.8% TPP (2025)448.2 km away
  • SadadeenLabor 64.2% · Coalition 35.8% TPP (2025)450.2 km away
  • Alice SpringsLabor 64.0% · Coalition 36.0% TPP (2025)450.7 km away
  • LarapintaLabor 57.3% · Coalition 42.7% TPP (2025)450.7 km away
  • GillenLabor 54.8% · Coalition 45.2% TPP (2025)451.5 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

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 (12%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

This suburb ranks highly for

Compare with

Similar suburbs to weigh up side by side — scores, safety, schools, and lifestyle.

More in Barkly Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Northern Territory.