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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Charnwood is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Canberra, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,055, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 13 km from the Canberra CBD, Charnwood is a middle ring area in Australian Capital Territory. The median household income is $94,536 per year.
Above-average earnings in Charnwood support sustained property values. Close CBD access strengthens tenant appeal and resale value.
Official Australia Post postcode for Charnwood. 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 Charnwood 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.
3,055 residents places Charnwood squarely in the middle of the Australian Capital Territory suburb size distribution (state median 3,808), with market depth comparable to most ACT localities. Charnwood's median household income of $94,536/year is 24% below the Australian Capital Territory suburb median ($123,916) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median weekly rent of $380 equates to $1,647/month — about 94% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,755/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. 13 km from Canberra places Charnwood in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 21% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Charnwood stacks up against the median of all Australian Capital Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Charnwood sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Charnwood | ACT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,055 | 3,808 | -20% |
| Median household income | $94,536/yr | $123,916/yr | -24% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $380 | $450 | -16% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,755 | $2,144 | -18% |
| Distance to CBD | 13 km | 10 km | +30% |
| Separate houses | 83% | 71% | +12pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Charnwood — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: household incomes 24% below the ACT median ($94,536 vs $123,916) means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Australian Capital Territory market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $380/week (~$1,647/month) covers 94% of the $1,755/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $108/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 83% houses in a 3,055-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 Charnwood property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Charnwood are modest for 2026 — incomes 24% below the ACT median of $123,916 and a population of 3,055 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~94% of the typical mortgage ($1,647/month rent vs $1,755/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 59/100 places Charnwood in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Charnwood scores 59/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,055, median household income of $94,536/year and median weekly rent of $380. 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 Charnwood are proximity to Canberra (13 km), a median household income of $94,536/year, a dwelling mix that is 83% 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.
Charnwood has a usual resident population of approximately 3,055, 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.
Charnwood sits 13 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 $380 in Charnwood, equating to approximately $19,760/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 Charnwood is $1,755, or approximately $21,060/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 $380 works out to $1,647/month, covering 94% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,755/month. That leaves a $108/month shortfall (around $1,296/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 (3,055 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,755 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($94,536 vs $123,916 state median), 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.