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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Darwin River is a regional centre in Northern Territory, Australia, with a population of approximately 627, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 42 km from the Darwin CBD, Darwin River is a regional area in Northern Territory. The median household income is $80,600 per year.
Household incomes in Darwin River sit in a comfortable mid-range for the Northern Territory market. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Darwin 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 Darwin 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.
Darwin River is a smaller community of 627 — about 21% of the Northern Territory suburb median (3,057) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Darwin River's median household income of $80,600/year is 29% 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. Median rent of $268/week (~$1,161/month) covers only 61% of the median mortgage of $1,900/month — the remaining $739/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. At 42 km from Darwin, Darwin River is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price.
How Darwin River stacks up against the median of all Northern Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Darwin River sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Darwin River | NT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 627 | 3,057 | -79% |
| Median household income | $80,600/yr | $113,308/yr | -29% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $268 | $360 | -26% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,900 | $1,950 | -3% |
| Distance to CBD | 42 km | 15 km | +180% |
| Separate houses | 81% | 68% | +13pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Darwin 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 627 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Northern Territory market over full cycles.
Weak cash flow: $268/week rent covers only 61% of the $1,900/month median mortgage — a $739/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.
With 81% houses in a 627-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 Darwin River property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Darwin River are modest for 2026 — incomes 29% below the NT median of $113,308 and a population of 627 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~61% of the typical mortgage ($1,161/month rent vs $1,900/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 43/100 places Darwin River in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Darwin River scores 43/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 627, median household income of $80,600/year and median weekly rent of $268. 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 Darwin River are a median household income of $80,600/year, a dwelling mix that is 81% 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.
Darwin River has a usual resident population of approximately 627, 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.
Darwin River sits 42 km straight-line from the Darwin CBD. This is an outer-metro location; local employment and infrastructure announcements tend to move prices more than CBD connectivity alone.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $268 in Darwin River, equating to approximately $13,936/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 Darwin River is $1,900, or approximately $22,800/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 $268 works out to $1,161/month, covering 61% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,900/month. That leaves a $739/month shortfall (around $8,868/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 (627 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,900 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($80,600 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.