City, ACT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Known to almost everyone as Civic, the City district is the central business district of Canberra and the busy heart of the national capital. It grew from Walter Burley Griffin's prize-winning plan for Canberra, centred on the gentle rise of City Hill, and still carries early landmarks such as the curved Sydney and Melbourne Buildings of the 1920s and 30s. Today Civic is where Canberrans come to shop, eat and gather: the Canberra Centre and the open cafes of Garema Place sit at its core, with theatres, bars and offices all around. Lake Burley Griffin and the line of national institutions along its shores are only a short walk to the south.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
City is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1165, 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.
Is City a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for City from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
99/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (99/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
4/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $550 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 4% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
City at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,835
- Median age
- 27
- Median weekly household income
- $2,232
- SEIFA score
- 1165
- Local government area
- Unincorporated ACT
- Coordinates
- -35.2813, 149.1288
Map of City
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in City
What it costs to live in City and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $550
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,950
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 36%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 62%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the City demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
City demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile City 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 41% and 50% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 146 | 3% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,809 | 37% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,977 | 41% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 626 | 13% |
| Seniors (65+) | 278 | 6% |
Share of the 4,836 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 277 | 15% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 375 | 21% |
| Rented | 1,107 | 62% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 0 | 0% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,788 | 100% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,794 occupied private dwellings in City.
- Average household size
- 1.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,895
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,076
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,144 (50%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,834 (43%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 50 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,903 (84%)
- Labour-force participation
- 67.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.4%
- Employed full-time
- 1,808
- Employed part-time
- 940
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.
Weather and climate in City
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in City is January (average daytime high around 27°C) and the coolest is July (around 10.1°C). The area receives roughly 742 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27°C | 14.5°C | 71 mm |
| Feb | 25.4°C | 13.6°C | 50 mm |
| Mar | 22.5°C | 12.2°C | 67 mm |
| Apr | 18.6°C | 8.7°C | 54 mm |
| May | 13.8°C | 4.4°C | 42 mm |
| Jun | 10.8°C | 2.7°C | 61 mm |
| Jul | 10.1°C | 1.7°C | 37 mm |
| Aug | 11.3°C | 1.9°C | 69 mm |
| Sep | 15°C | 4.3°C | 57 mm |
| Oct | 18.9°C | 7.4°C | 75 mm |
| Nov | 21.7°C | 9.8°C | 85 mm |
| Dec | 24.8°C | 12.4°C | 74 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about City
Is City a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, City rates 67/100 overall (Strong on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in City?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in City was $550, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,950. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is City?
City is a suburb of Australian Capital Territory, Australia, in the Unincorporated ACT local government area.
What is the population of City?
At the 2021 Census, City had a population of about 4,835.
Is City an advantaged area?
City has an ABS SEIFA score of 1165, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 99 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in City?
City has average daytime highs of about 18.3°C and overnight lows of about 7.8°C, with roughly 742 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Where City ranks
City appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Australian Capital Territory
More suburb guides in Australian Capital Territory
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.