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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Desert Springs is a regional centre in Northern Territory, Australia, with a population of approximately 1,536, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 1292 km from the Darwin CBD, Desert Springs is a regional area in Northern Territory. The median household income is $157,300 per year.
Above-average earnings in Desert Springs support sustained property values. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Desert Springs. 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 Desert Springs 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.
Desert Springs is a smaller community of 1,536 — about 50% of the Northern Territory suburb median (3,057) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $157,300/year runs 39% above the Northern Territory suburb median of $113,308, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Median weekly rent of $500 equates to $2,167/month — about 96% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,264/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Desert Springs is 1292 km from Darwin, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Desert Springs stacks up against the median of all Northern Territory suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Desert Springs sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Desert Springs | NT median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,536 | 3,057 | -50% |
| Median household income | $157,300/yr | $113,308/yr | +39% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $500 | $360 | +39% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,264 | $1,950 | +16% |
| Distance to CBD | 1292 km | 15 km | +8513% |
| Separate houses | 57% | 68% | -11pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Desert Springs — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 1,536 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Northern Territory market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $500/week (~$2,167/month) covers 96% of the $2,264/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $97/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 57% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 68% NT median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Desert Springs property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Desert Springs are modest for 2026 — incomes 39% above the NT median of $113,308 and a population of 1,536 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~96% of the typical mortgage ($2,167/month rent vs $2,264/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 50/100 places Desert Springs in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Desert Springs scores 50/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 1,536, median household income of $157,300/year and median weekly rent of $500. 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 Desert Springs are an above-state-median household income of $157,300/year, a dwelling mix that is 57% 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.
Desert Springs has a usual resident population of approximately 1,536, 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.
Desert Springs sits 1292 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 $500 in Desert Springs, equating to approximately $26,000/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 Desert Springs is $2,264, or approximately $27,168/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 $500 works out to $2,167/month, covering 96% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,264/month. That leaves a $97/month shortfall (around $1,164/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 (1,536 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,264 median mortgage, 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.