Alice Springs, NT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Alice Springs is the main town of Central Australia and the Red Centre, set among the MacDonnell Ranges on the usually dry bed of the Todd River, roughly midway between Darwin and Adelaide. Known to the Arrernte people as Mparntwe, the area has been their home for tens of thousands of years, and in 2000 the Federal Court formally recognised Arrernte native title over the town. The modern settlement grew from an 1872 Overland Telegraph repeater station beside a waterhole named after Alice Todd. Today it is the main base for visiting Uluru and the home of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the outback School of the Air.
Less advantaged than the national average
Alice Springs is more socio-economically advantaged than about 38% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 967, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Alice Springs at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 231
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,463
- SEIFA score
- 967
- Coordinates
- -23.6982, 133.8802
Alice Springs demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Alice Springs using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 50%, 58% of homes are rented, and 48% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 23 | 10% |
| Youth (15–24) | 14 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 117 | 50% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 69 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 11 | 5% |
Share of the 234 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 8 | 9% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 11 | 12% |
| Rented | 53 | 58% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 9 | 11% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 47 | 59% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 80 occupied private dwellings in Alice Springs.
- Median weekly rent
- $313
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,159
- Median weekly personal income
- $952
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 95 (48%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 102 (52%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 43 (19%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 104 (49%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 7%
- Employed full-time
- 84
- Employed part-time
- 28
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Alice Springs
Where is Alice Springs?
Alice Springs is a suburb of Northern Territory, Australia.
What is the population of Alice Springs?
At the 2021 Census, Alice Springs had a population of about 231.
Is Alice Springs an advantaged area?
Alice Springs has an ABS SEIFA score of 967, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 38 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 38% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Northern Territory
More suburb guides in Northern Territory
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.