Yarralumla, ACT
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Yarralumla is an established, leafy suburb of inner south Canberra, stretching along the south-western shore of Lake Burley Griffin a few kilometres from the city centre. It is best known as the home of Government House, the official residence of Australia's Governor-General, and for the cluster of embassies and high commissions that give the suburb its diplomatic character. Other landmarks include the 1927 Albert Hall and the Japanese garden at Lennox Gardens. The name is older than the capital itself: it comes from an Aboriginal word recorded by the surveyor Robert Dixon in 1829 for a steep-sided valley of the Murrumbidgee River, and is usually translated as 'echo mountain'.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Yarralumla is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1161, 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 Yarralumla 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 Yarralumla 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
4/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $547 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 4% 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.
Yarralumla at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,120
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $3,327
- SEIFA score
- 1161
- Local government area
- Unincorporated ACT
- Coordinates
- -35.3003, 149.0869
Map of Yarralumla
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Yarralumla
What it costs to live in Yarralumla and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $547
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $3,425
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 75%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 23%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Yarralumla demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Yarralumla demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Yarralumla 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 mid-life (45–64) at 28% and 29% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 476 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 326 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 553 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 879 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 881 | 28% |
Share of the 3,115 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 589 | 48% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 327 | 27% |
| Rented | 283 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 803 | 65% |
| Townhouses & semis | 337 | 27% |
| Flats & apartments | 92 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,239 occupied private dwellings in Yarralumla.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,506
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,591
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 885 (29%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 530 (18%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 28 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,108 (84%)
- Labour-force participation
- 58%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.1%
- Employed full-time
- 930
- Employed part-time
- 475
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 Yarralumla
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Yarralumla is January (average daytime high around 27.8°C) and the coolest is July (around 10.6°C). The area receives roughly 800 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.8°C | 14.5°C | 76 mm |
| Feb | 26.1°C | 13.5°C | 59 mm |
| Mar | 23.2°C | 11.8°C | 73 mm |
| Apr | 19.1°C | 7.9°C | 54 mm |
| May | 14.4°C | 3.3°C | 46 mm |
| Jun | 11.2°C | 1.5°C | 62 mm |
| Jul | 10.6°C | 0.7°C | 43 mm |
| Aug | 11.9°C | 0.9°C | 67 mm |
| Sep | 15.6°C | 3.2°C | 63 mm |
| Oct | 19.4°C | 6.7°C | 76 mm |
| Nov | 22.2°C | 9.5°C | 94 mm |
| Dec | 25.4°C | 12.2°C | 87 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Yarralumla
Is Yarralumla 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, Yarralumla rates 67/100 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 Yarralumla?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Yarralumla was $547, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $3,425. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Yarralumla?
Yarralumla is a suburb of Australian Capital Territory, Australia, in the Unincorporated ACT local government area.
What is the population of Yarralumla?
At the 2021 Census, Yarralumla had a population of about 3,120.
Is Yarralumla an advantaged area?
Yarralumla has an ABS SEIFA score of 1161, 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 Yarralumla?
Yarralumla has average daytime highs of about 18.9°C and overnight lows of about 7.1°C, with roughly 800 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Yarralumla have high household incomes?
Yarralumla has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Australian Capital Territory — the 4th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,327 per week).
Where Yarralumla ranks
Yarralumla 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.