Gungahlin, ACT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Gungahlin is one of Canberra's district town centres, set about 10 kilometres north of the city centre. The traditional custodians of the district are the Ngunnawal people, and the name is said to come from an Aboriginal word, variously translated as little rocky hill or white man's house. Long farmland on the capital's edge, Gungahlin has become one of the country's fastest-growing areas, its modern town centre now the northern terminus of Canberra's light rail line to Civic. Families are drawn by new suburbs, the waterside paths around Yerrabi Pond, and the restored woodland and wildlife sanctuary at nearby Mulligans Flat. Shops, schools, and transport make it a self-contained northern hub.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Gungahlin is more socio-economically advantaged than about 90% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1071, 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 Gungahlin 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Gungahlin 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
90/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (90/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
11/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $450 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 11% 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.
Gungahlin at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 8,586
- Median age
- 31
- Median weekly household income
- $2,208
- SEIFA score
- 1071
- Local government area
- Unincorporated ACT
- Coordinates
- -35.1860, 149.1376
Map of Gungahlin
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Gungahlin
What it costs to live in Gungahlin and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $450
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,801
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 45%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 52%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Gungahlin demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Gungahlin demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Gungahlin 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 44% and 50% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,370 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,253 | 15% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,803 | 44% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,618 | 19% |
| Seniors (65+) | 541 | 6% |
Share of the 8,585 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 425 | 13% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,038 | 32% |
| Rented | 1,690 | 52% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,144 | 36% |
| Townhouses & semis | 559 | 17% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,498 | 47% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,218 occupied private dwellings in Gungahlin.
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,395
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,049
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,127 (50%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4,054 (49%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 153 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 5,565 (80%)
- Labour-force participation
- 76%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6%
- Employed full-time
- 3,424
- Employed part-time
- 1,565
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 Gungahlin
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gungahlin 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 Gungahlin
Is Gungahlin 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, Gungahlin rates 64/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Gungahlin?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Gungahlin was $450, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,801. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Gungahlin?
Gungahlin is a suburb of Australian Capital Territory, Australia, in the Unincorporated ACT local government area.
What is the population of Gungahlin?
At the 2021 Census, Gungahlin had a population of about 8,586.
Is Gungahlin an advantaged area?
Gungahlin has an ABS SEIFA score of 1071, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 90 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 90% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Gungahlin?
Gungahlin 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).
How big is Gungahlin?
Gungahlin is one of the most populous suburbs in Australian Capital Territory — the 3rd-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 8,586 usual residents).
Where Gungahlin ranks
Gungahlin 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.