Kingston (ACT), ACT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kingston is one of Canberra's oldest and most densely populated suburbs, set just south of Lake Burley Griffin in the South Canberra district, a few kilometres from the city centre. Laid out in the mid-1920s — originally as Eastlake — and gazetted in 1928, it pairs a heritage core of early inter-war housing with the modern Kingston Foreshore, a lakeside precinct of apartments, restaurants and bars. The 1915 Kingston Powerhouse, often described as Canberra's first permanent public building, now houses the Canberra Glassworks, and the popular Old Bus Depot Markets run on Sundays nearby. The suburb is generally said to be named after Charles Cameron Kingston, a South Australian premier and figure in Federation.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Kingston (ACT) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1163, 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 Kingston (ACT) 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 Kingston (ACT) 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
5/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $510 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 5% 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.
Kingston (ACT) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,579
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $2,469
- SEIFA score
- 1163
- Local government area
- Unincorporated ACT
- Coordinates
- -35.3145, 149.1465
Map of Kingston (ACT)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Kingston (ACT)
What it costs to live in Kingston (ACT) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $510
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,950
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 48%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 51%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Kingston (ACT) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Kingston (ACT) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kingston (ACT) 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 49% and 27% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 563 | 9% |
| Youth (15–24) | 608 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,198 | 49% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,429 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 775 | 12% |
Share of the 6,573 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 575 | 17% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,008 | 31% |
| Rented | 1,673 | 51% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 99 | 3% |
| Townhouses & semis | 212 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,980 | 91% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,291 occupied private dwellings in Kingston (ACT).
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,557
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,777
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,603 (27%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,108 (19%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 99 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,863 (82%)
- Labour-force participation
- 75.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.4%
- Employed full-time
- 3,433
- Employed part-time
- 769
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 Kingston (ACT)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Kingston (ACT) 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 Kingston (ACT)
Is Kingston (ACT) 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, Kingston (ACT) rates 68/100 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 Kingston (ACT)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Kingston (ACT) was $510, 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 Kingston (ACT)?
Kingston (ACT) is a suburb of Australian Capital Territory, Australia, in the Unincorporated ACT local government area.
What is the population of Kingston (ACT)?
At the 2021 Census, Kingston (ACT) had a population of about 6,579.
Is Kingston (ACT) an advantaged area?
Kingston (ACT) has an ABS SEIFA score of 1163, 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 Kingston (ACT)?
Kingston (ACT) 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 Kingston (ACT)?
Kingston (ACT) is one of the most populous suburbs in Australian Capital Territory — the 16th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 6,579 usual residents).
Where Kingston (ACT) ranks
Kingston (ACT) 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.