Free full calculator →
Suburb Insights · ACT 2606

Chifley, ACT 2606 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Chifley is an inner-city suburb of Canberra, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,680, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 9 km from the Canberra CBD, Chifley is a inner city area in Australian Capital Territory. The median household income is $122,044 per year.

Investment Score

76 / 100 Good

Chifley benefits from a high-income resident base, supporting premium property pricing. The short commute to the city centre is a key demand driver.

Location

Canberra
Chifley
Australian Capital Territory · 2606
9 km from Canberra CBD
View on Google Maps ↗

Key Indicators

Postcode
2606

Official Australia Post postcode for Chifley. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
2,680

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$450/wk

Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.

Median household income
$122,044/yr

Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.

Distance to CBD
9 km

Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
1

Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.

Find schools near Chifley on My School →
Parks & green spaces
1

Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$2,383/mo

Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.

Home type
62% houses

Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.

Why People Like Living in Chifley

Who Chifley Suits

👨‍👩‍👧FamiliesSchool count or dwelling mix is lighter here.
📊InvestorsRent covers a solid share of the median mortgage.
🏡First-home buyersPrices sit above the Australian Capital Territory median — stretch goal.
💼ProfessionalsAround 9 km from the CBD with good access.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Short distance to the CBD makes commuting straightforward.
  • Lifestyle access to shops, cafes and amenities.

Cons

  • Median mortgage sits above the Australian Capital Territory state median — entry costs are stretched.
  • Transport options are limited — car dependency is likely.

Investment Insight

Chifley is a smaller community of 2,680 — about 70% of the Australian Capital Territory suburb median (3,808) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. At $122,044/year, household income in Chifley is within 2% of the Australian Capital Territory median ($123,916), placing the suburb firmly in the state's mainstream demographic band. Rent of $450/week (82% coverage of the $2,383/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $433/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 9 km from the Canberra CBD, Chifley sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks.

Investment Tip

Inner-city investors should model strata costs and rate rises carefully, since gross yields here are often compressed by higher entry prices. Local rents consume roughly 19% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Chifley vs Australian Capital Territory Median

How Chifley stacks up against the median of all Australian Capital Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Chifley sits above the state median; negative means below.

MetricChifleyACT medianΔ vs state
Population2,6803,808-30%
Median household income$122,044/yr$123,916/yr-2%
Median rent (weekly)$450$4500%
Median mortgage (monthly)$2,383$2,144+11%
Distance to CBD9 km10 km-10%
Separate houses62%71%-9pp

Investor Checklist

Pre-inspection briefing for Chifley — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.

Investment Strategy

Buy & Hold

Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,680 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Australian Capital Territory market over full cycles.

⚠️
Rental Yield

Moderate rental coverage: rent of $450/week covers 82% of a $2,383/month mortgage, leaving a $433/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.

⚠️
Renovation / Flip

With 62% houses in a 2,680-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.

Risk Factors

Run the numbers on a Chifley property

Full Property Analysis

30-year projections for Chifley

Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.

Create free account →
Or jump straight to a calculator: Loan Serviceability First Home Buyer Grants

2026 Outlook

Growth: Low Rental Demand: Low Investor Sentiment: Strong

Capital-growth expectations for Chifley are modest for 2026 — incomes close to the ACT median of $123,916 and a population of 2,680 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~82% of the typical mortgage ($1,950/month rent vs $2,383/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 76/100 places Chifley in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.

Share your experience of Chifley

Lived in Chifley? Help other investors with an honest 100-word review. Sign-in required; all reviews are manually moderated before they appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chifley a good suburb for investment?

Chifley scores 76/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,680, median household income of $122,044/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.

What drives property demand in Chifley?

The main demand drivers in Chifley are proximity to Canberra (9 km), a median household income of $122,044/year, a dwelling mix that is 62% 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.

What is the population of Chifley?

Chifley has a usual resident population of approximately 2,680, 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.

How far is Chifley from the Canberra CBD?

Chifley sits 9 km straight-line from the Canberra CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Canberra employment nodes.

What is the median rent in Chifley?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $450 in Chifley, 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.

What is the typical mortgage repayment in Chifley?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Chifley is $2,383, or approximately $28,596/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.

Is Chifley cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $450 works out to $1,950/month, covering 82% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,383/month. That leaves a $433/month shortfall (around $5,196/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.

What are the main risks of investing in Chifley?

The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,680 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,383 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.

How we built this Chifley profile

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.

Nearby Suburbs

Australian Capital Territory Property Resources