Nightcliff, NT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Nightcliff is a coastal suburb of Darwin, about 10 km north of the city centre on the shore of Darwin Harbour. It is one of the northern suburbs' best-known recreation spots, built around the Nightcliff Foreshore — a popular walking and cycling path along low sea cliffs — together with the Nightcliff jetty, a swimming pool and the busy Sunday Nightcliff Markets of food, craft and live music. The suburb's name is usually traced to an 1839 landing by the crew of HMS Beagle, recorded as 'Night Cliff' on an 1869 survey map, though its precise origin has long been debated; the present spelling was formally adopted in 1948. Nightcliff lies on the traditional country of the Larrakia people.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Nightcliff is more socio-economically advantaged than about 88% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1067, 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 Nightcliff 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 Nightcliff 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
88/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (88/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
32/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $350 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 32% 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.
Nightcliff at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,884
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $2,051
- SEIFA score
- 1067
- Local government area
- Darwin
- Coordinates
- -12.3828, 130.8486
Map of Nightcliff
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Nightcliff
What it costs to live in Nightcliff and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $350
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,972
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 43%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 54%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Nightcliff demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Nightcliff demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Nightcliff 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 41% and 37% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 673 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 353 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,579 | 41% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 838 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 440 | 11% |
Share of the 3,883 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 296 | 19% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 373 | 24% |
| Rented | 828 | 54% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 545 | 36% |
| Townhouses & semis | 137 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 837 | 55% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,522 occupied private dwellings in Nightcliff.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,430
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,203
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,355 (37%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,180 (33%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 188 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,216 (71%)
- Labour-force participation
- 74.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.4%
- Employed full-time
- 1,507
- Employed part-time
- 645
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 Nightcliff
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Nightcliff is November (average daytime high around 33.3°C) and the coolest is July (around 30.5°C). The area receives roughly 1819 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.6°C | 25.9°C | 464 mm |
| Feb | 30.5°C | 25.8°C | 379 mm |
| Mar | 31.3°C | 25.8°C | 219 mm |
| Apr | 31.9°C | 25°C | 108 mm |
| May | 31.6°C | 23.1°C | 17 mm |
| Jun | 30.8°C | 21.5°C | 9 mm |
| Jul | 30.5°C | 20.1°C | 5 mm |
| Aug | 31.6°C | 20.9°C | 4 mm |
| Sep | 32.6°C | 23.3°C | 28 mm |
| Oct | 33.4°C | 25.4°C | 71 mm |
| Nov | 33.3°C | 26.2°C | 150 mm |
| Dec | 32°C | 26.4°C | 365 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Nightcliff
Is Nightcliff 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, Nightcliff rates 69/100 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 Nightcliff?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Nightcliff was $350, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,972. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Nightcliff?
Nightcliff is a suburb of Northern Territory, Australia, in the Darwin local government area.
What is the population of Nightcliff?
At the 2021 Census, Nightcliff had a population of about 3,884.
Is Nightcliff an advantaged area?
Nightcliff has an ABS SEIFA score of 1067, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 88 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 88% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Nightcliff?
Nightcliff has average daytime highs of about 31.7°C and overnight lows of about 24.1°C, with roughly 1,819 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Nightcliff?
Nightcliff is one of the most populous suburbs in Northern Territory — the 10th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 3,884 usual residents).
Where Nightcliff ranks
Nightcliff appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Northern Territory
More suburb guides in Northern Territory
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.