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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
McKellar is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Canberra, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,740, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 9 km from the Canberra CBD, McKellar is a middle ring area in Australian Capital Territory. The median household income is $139,724 per year.
Above-average earnings in McKellar support sustained property values. Its proximity to the CBD adds a strong location premium.
Official Australia Post postcode for McKellar. 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 McKellar 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.
McKellar is a smaller community of 2,740 — about 72% of the Australian Capital Territory suburb median (3,808) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Households here earn $139,724/year on average — 13% above the ACT suburb median of $123,916 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Rent of $438/week (88% coverage of the $2,167/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $269/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 9 km from the Canberra CBD, McKellar sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks. Separate houses make up 90% of dwellings — 19 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.
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 16% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How McKellar stacks up against the median of all Australian Capital Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean McKellar sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | McKellar | ACT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,740 | 3,808 | -28% |
| Median household income | $139,724/yr | $123,916/yr | +13% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $438 | $450 | -3% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,167 | $2,144 | +1% |
| Distance to CBD | 9 km | 10 km | -10% |
| Separate houses | 90% | 71% | +19pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for McKellar — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,740 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Australian Capital Territory market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $438/week (~$1,898/month) covers 88% of the $2,167/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $269/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 90% houses in a 2,740-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 McKellar property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for McKellar are modest for 2026 — incomes 13% above the ACT median of $123,916 and a population of 2,740 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~88% of the typical mortgage ($1,898/month rent vs $2,167/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 74/100 places McKellar 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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McKellar scores 74/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,740, median household income of $139,724/year and median weekly rent of $438. 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 McKellar are proximity to Canberra (9 km), an above-state-median household income of $139,724/year, a dwelling mix that is 90% 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.
McKellar has a usual resident population of approximately 2,740, 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.
McKellar sits 9 km straight-line from the Canberra CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Canberra employment nodes.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $438 in McKellar, equating to approximately $22,776/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 McKellar is $2,167, or approximately $26,004/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 $438 works out to $1,898/month, covering 88% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month. That leaves a $269/month shortfall (around $3,228/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 (2,740 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,167 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.