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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Chapman is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Canberra, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,867, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 12 km from the Canberra CBD, Chapman is a middle ring area in Australian Capital Territory. The median household income is $161,772 per year.
Strong household incomes in Chapman underpin solid property demand. Close CBD access strengthens tenant appeal and resale value.
Official Australia Post postcode for Chapman. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Chapman on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Chapman is a smaller community of 2,867 — about 75% of the Australian Capital Territory suburb median (3,808) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $161,772/year runs 31% above the Australian Capital Territory suburb median of $123,916, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Rent of $450/week (75% coverage of the $2,600/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $650/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. 12 km from Canberra places Chapman in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs. Separate houses make up 87% of dwellings — 16 percentage points above the Australian Capital Territory median of 71% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
Middle-ring locations like this one historically reward patient holders — focus on homes near catchment-zone schools and major transport. Local rents consume roughly 14% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Chapman stacks up against the median of all Australian Capital Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Chapman sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Chapman | ACT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,867 | 3,808 | -25% |
| Median household income | $161,772/yr | $123,916/yr | +31% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $450 | $450 | 0% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,600 | $2,144 | +21% |
| Distance to CBD | 12 km | 10 km | +20% |
| Separate houses | 87% | 71% | +16pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Chapman — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 31% above the Australian Capital Territory suburb median ($161,772 vs $123,916), and the 12 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In Australian Capital Territory, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $450/week covers 75% of a $2,600/month mortgage, leaving a $650/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 87% houses in a 2,867-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Chapman property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Chapman enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 31% above the Australian Capital Territory suburb median of $123,916 and a population of 2,867 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider ACT market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~75% of the typical mortgage ($1,950/month rent vs $2,600/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 74/100 places Chapman in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.
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Chapman scores 74/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,867, median household income of $161,772/year and median weekly rent of $450. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Chapman are proximity to Canberra (12 km), an above-state-median household income of $161,772/year, a dwelling mix that is 87% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Chapman has a usual resident population of approximately 2,867, compared with a Australian Capital Territory suburb median of 3,808 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Chapman sits 12 km straight-line from the Canberra CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $450 in Chapman, equating to approximately $23,400/year in gross rental income (state median $450/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Chapman is $2,600, or approximately $31,200/year (vs $2,144/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $450 works out to $1,950/month, covering 75% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,600/month. That leaves a $650/month shortfall (around $7,800/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,867 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,600 median mortgage, the broader Australian Capital Territory market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.