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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Richardson is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Canberra, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,058, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 16 km from the Canberra CBD, Richardson is a middle ring area in Australian Capital Territory. The median household income is $106,236 per year.
Strong household incomes in Richardson underpin solid property demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Richardson. 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 Richardson 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.
3,058 residents places Richardson squarely in the middle of the Australian Capital Territory suburb size distribution (state median 3,808), with market depth comparable to most ACT localities. Household income of $106,236/year is 14% below the Australian Capital Territory median of $123,916, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Rent of $391/week (85% coverage of the $2,000/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $306/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. 16 km from Canberra places Richardson 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 93% of dwellings — 22 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 19% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Richardson stacks up against the median of all Australian Capital Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Richardson sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Richardson | ACT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,058 | 3,808 | -20% |
| Median household income | $106,236/yr | $123,916/yr | -14% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $391 | $450 | -13% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,000 | $2,144 | -7% |
| Distance to CBD | 16 km | 10 km | +60% |
| Separate houses | 93% | 71% | +22pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Richardson — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Richardson's 3,058-person market and $106,236 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage: $391/week (~$1,694/month) covers 85% of the $2,000/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $306/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 93% houses in a 3,058-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 Richardson property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Richardson are modest for 2026 — incomes 14% below the ACT median of $123,916 and a population of 3,058 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~85% of the typical mortgage ($1,694/month rent vs $2,000/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 63/100 places Richardson in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Richardson scores 63/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,058, median household income of $106,236/year and median weekly rent of $391. 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 Richardson are proximity to Canberra (16 km), a median household income of $106,236/year, a dwelling mix that is 93% 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.
Richardson has a usual resident population of approximately 3,058, 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.
Richardson sits 16 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 $391 in Richardson, equating to approximately $20,332/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 Richardson is $2,000, or approximately $24,000/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 $391 works out to $1,694/month, covering 85% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,000/month. That leaves a $306/month shortfall (around $3,672/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 (3,058 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,000 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.