Gunbalanya vs Kakadu
Gunbalanya is the younger of the two, with a median age of 27 against 36 in Kakadu. In both, most households rent and most homes are detached houses. In Gunbalanya, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Gunbalanya tends to suit renters, families with children, and couples, while Kakadu suits people living alone.
Gunbalanya is a larger community of 1,177 people with a younger median age of 27 years, while Kakadu is smaller at 315 people with a median age of 36 years. Kakadu residents enjoy notably higher median household income at $87,724 compared to Gunbalanya's $66,404, and weekly rent is also higher at $92 versus $70. Gunbalanya is more remote, sitting 300.4 km from the CBD against Kakadu's 227.2 km. Both suburbs score identically on walkability and carry no recorded bushfire, crime, or flood risk, though Kakadu rates higher on the socio-economic decile. The choice depends on whether you prioritise a larger, younger settlement or a smaller community with stronger household incomes.
Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
Gunbalanya
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- is already more of a family suburb (84% vs 57%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (88% vs 68%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
Renters
Gunbalanya
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (98% vs 71%)
- has cheaper rent ($70/wk vs $92/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Kakadu
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (227.2 km vs 300.4 km)
- has a shorter drive in (221 min vs 226 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Kakadu
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (32% vs 12%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Gunbalanya and Kakadu drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Gunbalanya has more residents (1,177 vs 315); Kakadu skews older (36 vs 27).
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,177 +73% vs other | 315 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +5.5% | +0.6% |
| Median age | 27 | 36 |
| Median household income | $66,404/yr | $87,724/yr +32% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $70/wk | $92/wk +31% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (14.6%).
Where residents were born
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Development activity
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 34 across West Arnhem same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +500% same for both | |
Ranking within NT
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 33% of NT | Higher than 54% of NT |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 13% of NT | Higher than 11% of NT |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 16% of NT | Higher than 14% of NT |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 13% of NT | Higher than 11% of NT |
Liveability
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 15/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | below-average income decile 3/10 |
Risk profile
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Crime | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 | High 100/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Gunbalanya
- Gunbalanya School Government · Combined below peers
Schools in Kakadu
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 2 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Beaches | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 0 | 30 |
Mobility
Gunbalanya sits further from the CBD (300.4 km vs 227.2 km).
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Darwin | 300.4 km +24% vs other | 227.2 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 226 min | 221 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 0822 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 26 postcode 0822 same for both | |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (56.8%).
Setting
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 23 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 9 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 35.6 km | 35.8 km |
NBN connectivity
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 26 premises | 0% 62 premises |
Council rates
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,233/yr same for both | |
| Council | West Arnhem same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Lingiari same for both | |
| Member | Marion Scrymgour same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Gunbalanya | Kakadu | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $50,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Gunbalanya
Kakadu
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Gunbalanya
Other comparisons with Kakadu
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.