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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Daly River is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Darwin, Australia, with a population of approximately 116, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 116 km from the Darwin CBD, Daly River is a middle ring area in Northern Territory. The median household income is $50,908 per year.
Lower income levels in Daly River typically translate to more affordable entry points for investors. Greater distance from the CBD may temper short-term capital growth.
Official Australia Post postcode for Daly River. 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 Daly River 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.
Daly River is a smaller community of 116 — about 4% of the Northern Territory suburb median (3,057) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Daly River's median household income of $50,908/year is 55% below the Northern Territory suburb median ($113,308) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Weekly rent of $90 covers just 30% of the median $1,312/month mortgage repayment, leaving a $922/month gap — investors should only pursue this suburb with a clear capital-growth thesis and sufficient external income to fund the shortfall. Daly River is 116 km from Darwin, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Daly River stacks up against the median of all Northern Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Daly River sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Daly River | NT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 116 | 3,057 | -96% |
| Median household income | $50,908/yr | $113,308/yr | -55% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $90 | $360 | -75% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,312 | $1,950 | -33% |
| Distance to CBD | 116 km | 15 km | +673% |
| Separate houses | 60% | 68% | -8pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Daly River — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 116 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Northern Territory market over full cycles.
Weak cash flow: $90/week rent covers only 30% of the $1,312/month median mortgage — a $922/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.
With 60% houses in a 116-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 Daly River property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Daly River are modest for 2026 — incomes 55% below the NT median of $113,308 and a population of 116 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~30% of the typical mortgage ($390/month rent vs $1,312/month repayment), meaning investors will rely on capital growth rather than yield. The EquitySight investment score of 33/100 places Daly River in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Daly River scores 33/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 116, median household income of $50,908/year and median weekly rent of $90. 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 Daly River are a median household income of $50,908/year, a dwelling mix that is 60% 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.
Daly River has a usual resident population of approximately 116, compared with a Northern Territory suburb median of 3,057 — 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.
Daly River sits 116 km straight-line from the Darwin CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $90 in Daly River, equating to approximately $4,680/year in gross rental income (state median $360/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 Daly River is $1,312, or approximately $15,744/year (vs $1,950/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 $90 works out to $390/month, covering 30% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,312/month. That leaves a $922/month shortfall (around $11,064/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 (116 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,312 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($50,908 vs $113,308 state median), the broader Northern 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.