Desert Springs, NT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Desert Springs is more socio-economically advantaged than about 97% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1119, 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 Desert Springs 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 Desert Springs 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
97/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (97/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
6/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $500 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 6% 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.
Desert Springs at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,536
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $3,025
- SEIFA score
- 1119
- Local government area
- Alice Springs
- Coordinates
- -23.7125, 133.8855
Map of Desert Springs
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Desert Springs
What it costs to live in Desert Springs and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $500
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,264
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 60%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 35%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Desert Springs demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Desert Springs demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Desert 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 32% and 37% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 315 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 152 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 498 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 404 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 164 | 11% |
Share of the 1,533 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 112 | 22% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 199 | 38% |
| Rented | 180 | 35% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 351 | 67% |
| Townhouses & semis | 165 | 32% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 523 occupied private dwellings in Desert Springs.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,321
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,454
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 546 (37%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 259 (18%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 62 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 822 (71%)
- Labour-force participation
- 79.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.6%
- Employed full-time
- 684
- Employed part-time
- 219
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.
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Common questions about Desert Springs
Is Desert Springs 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, Desert Springs 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 Desert Springs?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Desert Springs was $500, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,264. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Desert Springs?
Desert Springs is a suburb of Northern Territory, Australia, in the Alice Springs local government area.
What is the population of Desert Springs?
At the 2021 Census, Desert Springs had a population of about 1,536.
Is Desert Springs an advantaged area?
Desert Springs has an ABS SEIFA score of 1119, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 97 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 97% of Australian suburbs.
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