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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Darlington is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Perth, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,725, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 21 km from the Perth CBD, Darlington is a middle ring area in Western Australia. The median household income is $124,176 per year.
Darlington benefits from a high-income resident base, supporting premium property pricing.
Official Australia Post postcode for Darlington. 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 Darlington 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.
Darlington is a smaller community of 3,725 — about 66% of the Western Australia suburb median (5,605) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $124,176/year runs 25% above the Western Australia suburb median of $99,736, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Rent of $420/week (87% coverage of the $2,100/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $280/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. 21 km from Perth places Darlington in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
Middle-ring locations like this one historically reward patient holders — focus on homes near catchment-zone schools and major transport. Local rents consume roughly 18% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Darlington stacks up against the median of all Western Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Darlington sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Darlington | WA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,725 | 5,605 | -34% |
| Median household income | $124,176/yr | $99,736/yr | +25% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $420 | $350 | +20% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,100 | $1,902 | +10% |
| Distance to CBD | 21 km | 20 km | +5% |
| Separate houses | 92% | 79% | +13pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Darlington — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 25% above the Western Australia suburb median ($124,176 vs $99,736), and the 21 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In Western Australia, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.
Strong rental coverage: $420/week (~$1,820/month) covers 87% of the $2,100/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $280/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 92% houses in a 3,725-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 Darlington property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Darlington enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 25% above the Western Australia suburb median of $99,736 and a population of 3,725 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider WA market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~87% of the typical mortgage ($1,820/month rent vs $2,100/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 79/100 places Darlington 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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Darlington scores 79/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,725, median household income of $124,176/year and median weekly rent of $420. 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 Darlington are proximity to Perth (21 km), an above-state-median household income of $124,176/year, a dwelling mix that is 92% 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.
Darlington has a usual resident population of approximately 3,725, compared with a Western Australia suburb median of 5,605 — 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.
Darlington sits 21 km straight-line from the Perth 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 $420 in Darlington, equating to approximately $21,840/year in gross rental income (state median $350/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 Darlington is $2,100, or approximately $25,200/year (vs $1,902/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 $420 works out to $1,820/month, covering 87% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,100/month. That leaves a $280/month shortfall (around $3,360/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 (3,725 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,100 median mortgage, the broader Western Australia 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.