Downer, ACT

By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan · Updated 30 May 2026

93/100

Suburb Score

Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs

Downer is more socio-economically advantaged than about 93% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1087, 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.

Downer at a glance

Population (2021): 4,296
Median age: 35
Median weekly household income: $2,267
SEIFA score: 1087
Coordinates: -35.2426, 149.1433

Downer demographics (2021 Census)

The figures below profile Downer 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 36%, 36% of homes are rented, and 30% of residents were born overseas.

Age profile

Age group	People	Share
Children (0–14)	768	18%
Youth (15–24)	565	13%
Young adults (25–44)	1,526	36%
Mid-life (45–64)	893	21%
Seniors (65+)	546	13%

Share of the 4,298 people counted by age.

Housing and households

Tenure	Dwellings	Share
Owned outright	437	27%
Owned with a mortgage	562	35%
Rented	587	36%

Dwelling type	Dwellings	Share
Houses	1,092	67%
Townhouses & semis	261	16%
Flats & apartments	274	17%

Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,627 occupied private dwellings in Downer.

Median weekly rent: $420
Median monthly mortgage: $2,167
Average household size: 2.5 people
Median weekly family income: $2,882
Median weekly personal income: $1,125

Community and culture

Born overseas: 1,238 (30%)
Speaks a language other than English at home: 1,006 (24%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: 82 (2%)

Work and education

Completed Year 12: 2,743 (81%)
Labour-force participation: 70.5%
Unemployment rate: 4.1%
Employed full-time: 1,433
Employed part-time: 828

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 Downer

Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Downer 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).

Common questions about Downer

Where is Downer?

Downer is a suburb of Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

What is the population of Downer?

At the 2021 Census, Downer had a population of about 4,296.

Is Downer an advantaged area?

Downer has an ABS SEIFA score of 1087, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 93 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 93% of Australian suburbs.

What is the weather like in Downer?

Downer 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).