Mataranka, NT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mataranka is a small town on the edge of the Northern Territory's tropical 'Never Never' country, in the Roper Gulf Region about 107 kilometres south of Katherine and 420 kilometres south-east of Darwin. Its name means 'home of the snake' in the local Yangman language, and the town is best known for the Mataranka thermal pools — clear, palm-fringed springs that draw travellers off the Stuart Highway. The district was the setting for Jeannie Gunn's much-loved 1908 book 'We of the Never Never', drawn from her time at nearby Elsey Station, and a replica of the old homestead stands close to the springs. Mataranka was gazetted in 1928 when the North Australia Railway came through, and the surrounding land is cattle country.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Mataranka is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 897, 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 Mataranka 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Mataranka 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
11/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (11/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
96/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $100 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 96% 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.
Mataranka at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 384
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,843
- SEIFA score
- 897
- Local government area
- Roper Gulf
- Coordinates
- -14.9549, 133.0439
Map of Mataranka
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Mataranka
What it costs to live in Mataranka and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $100
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,506
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 39%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 31%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Mataranka demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Mataranka demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mataranka 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 37% and 21% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 38 | 10% |
| Youth (15–24) | 38 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 140 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 108 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 59 | 15% |
Share of the 383 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 28 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 13 | 12% |
| Rented | 33 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 69 | 71% |
| Townhouses & semis | 5 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 97 occupied private dwellings in Mataranka.
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,562
- Median weekly personal income
- $700
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 70 (21%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 129 (39%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 107 (28%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 117 (35%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.7%
- Employed full-time
- 119
- Employed part-time
- 48
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 Mataranka
Is Mataranka 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, Mataranka rates 39/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Mataranka?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Mataranka was $100, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,506. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Mataranka?
Mataranka is a suburb of Northern Territory, Australia, in the Roper Gulf local government area.
What is the population of Mataranka?
At the 2021 Census, Mataranka had a population of about 384.
Is Mataranka an advantaged area?
Mataranka has an ABS SEIFA score of 897, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Northern Territory
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