Gunn vs Johnston

Johnston is the younger of the two, with a median age of 28 against 31 in Gunn. In both, most homes are detached houses and about half of households are couple families. In Gunn, most households own their home. In Johnston, most households rent. Houses cost more in Johnston: a median of $770,000, against $672,000 in Gunn, though rent is higher in Gunn. Gunn is closer to the city centre: 22.2 km, against 26.4 km. On these figures, Johnston tends to suit renters and families with children.

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

Gunn

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (98% vs 58%)

Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Gunn

ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 25%)
  • has cheaper houses ($672,500 vs $770,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Johnston

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (64% vs 42%)
  • has cheaper rent ($370/wk vs $480/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Gunn

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (78/100 vs 52/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (22.2 km vs 26.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Gunn is more walkable (78/100 vs 52/100)
  • Johnston has more units and townhouses to downsize into (42% vs 2%)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.

Investors

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Gunn returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.9% vs 4.4%)
  • Johnston is growing faster (17.7% vs -3.8%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Gunn and Johnston drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Gunn Johnston
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Gunn Johnston
Walkability 78 / 52
Gunn — Walkability: 78/100 Johnston — Walkability: 52/100

Demographics

Gunn rents higher ($480/wk vs $370/wk); Gunn skews older (31 vs 28).

Gunn Johnston
Population 2,564
+7% vs other
 2,386
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -3.8% +17.7%
Median age 31 28
Median household income $129,220/yr
+9% vs other
 $117,208/yr
Median weekly rent $480/wk
+23% vs other
 $370/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Gunn Johnston
0-4 8.4% / 10.9%
Gunn — 0-4: 8.4% Johnston — 0-4: 10.9%
5-14 15.4% / 17.1%
Gunn — 5-14: 15.4% Johnston — 5-14: 17.1%
15-19 7.3% / 5.7%
Gunn — 15-19: 7.3% Johnston — 15-19: 5.7%
20-24 7.3% / 9.2%
Gunn — 20-24: 7.3% Johnston — 20-24: 9.2%
25-34 16.3% / 21.3%
Gunn — 25-34: 16.3% Johnston — 25-34: 21.3%
35-44 16.9% / 19.3%
Gunn — 35-44: 16.9% Johnston — 35-44: 19.3%
45-54 13.5% / 8.9%
Gunn — 45-54: 13.5% Johnston — 45-54: 8.9%
55-64 8.7% / 4.7%
Gunn — 55-64: 8.7% Johnston — 55-64: 4.7%
65-74 4.5% / 1.8%
Gunn — 65-74: 4.5% Johnston — 65-74: 1.8%
75-84 1.5% / 1.0%
Gunn — 75-84: 1.5% Johnston — 75-84: 1.0%
85+ 0.5% / 0.1%
Gunn — 85+: 0.5% Johnston — 85+: 0.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Gunn 54.6% couple families
Gunn — Couple Families: 54.6% Gunn — Lone Person: 19.5% Gunn — One Parent Families: 18.6% Gunn — Group Household: 5.6% Gunn — Other Families: 1.7%
Johnston 50.9% couple families
Johnston — Couple Families: 50.9% Johnston — Lone Person: 22.0% Johnston — One Parent Families: 20.2% Johnston — Group Household: 6.3% Johnston — Other Families: 0.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Gunn 41.5% renting
Gunn — Owned Outright: 13.4% Gunn — Mortgage: 45.0% Gunn — Renting: 41.5%
Johnston 63.8% renting
Johnston — Owned Outright: 2.0% Johnston — Mortgage: 34.2% Johnston — Renting: 63.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Gunn Johnston
Certificate III & IV 17.8% / 16.1%
Gunn — Certificate III & IV: 17.8% Johnston — Certificate III & IV: 16.1%
Bachelor Degree 8.8% / 9.8%
Gunn — Bachelor Degree: 8.8% Johnston — Bachelor Degree: 9.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.2% / 7.0%
Gunn — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2% Johnston — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.0%
Postgraduate Degree 2.1% / 3.4%
Gunn — Postgraduate Degree: 2.1% Johnston — Postgraduate Degree: 3.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.7% / 1.4%
Gunn — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.7% Johnston — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.8%).

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.

Gunn Johnston
Philippines 3.6% / 4.4%
Gunn — Philippines: 3.6% Johnston — Philippines: 4.4%
India 1.4% / 3.7%
Gunn — India: 1.4% Johnston — India: 3.7%
England 3.1% / 1.7%
Gunn — England: 3.1% Johnston — England: 1.7%
New Zealand 2.3% / 1.6%
Gunn — New Zealand: 2.3% Johnston — New Zealand: 1.6%
Thailand 0.8% / 0.5%
Gunn — Thailand: 0.8% Johnston — Thailand: 0.5%
Nepal — / 1.0%
Gunn — Nepal: not among its largest Johnston — Nepal: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.4%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Gunn 98.4% houses
Gunn — Houses: 98.4% Gunn — Flats / Apartments: 0.2% Gunn — Townhouses: 1.4%
Johnston 57.8% houses
Johnston — Houses: 57.8% Johnston — Flats / Apartments: 23.8% Johnston — Townhouses: 18.3%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Gunn Johnston
Median house price $672,500 $770,000
Median unit price — $476,250
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 13 days
from 21 sales
 18 days
from 15 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Gunn Johnston
3 bed $631K / $685K
Gunn — 3 bed: $631K (66 sales) Johnston — 3 bed: $685K (16 sales)

66 vs 16 sales

4 bed $734K / $800K
Gunn — 4 bed: $734K (42 sales) Johnston — 4 bed: $800K (26 sales)

42 vs 26 sales

5 bed $866K / $1.02M
Gunn — 5 bed: $866K (6 sales) Johnston — 5 bed: $1.02M (5 sales)

6 vs 5 sales

Development activity

Gunn Johnston
New dwellings approved 247
across Palmerston
same for both
Approvals change year on year -3%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Gunn Johnston
Houses 4.9%
$750/wk on $790K
 4.4%
$750/wk on $895K
Units — 6.2%
$580/wk on $490K

Ranking within NT

Gunn Johnston
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 88% of NT —
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 97% of NT Higher than 84% of NT
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 71% of NT Higher than 69% of NT
NBN connectivity Higher than 94% of NT Higher than 90% of NT
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 33% of NT Higher than 15% of NT
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 15% of NT

Liveability

Gunn is more walkable (78 vs 52); Gunn scores higher overall (76 vs 58).

Gunn Johnston
Grade A B
Score 76/100 58/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Gunn Johnston
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
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 2
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Gunn Johnston
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Gunn

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Johnston

  • MacKillop Catholic College Catholic · Secondary

Amenities in the suburb

Gunn Johnston
Supermarkets 0 1
Parks & reserves 6 4
Childcare 1 0
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Johnston sits further from the CBD (26.4 km vs 22.2 km).

Gunn Johnston
Walkability score 78/100 52/100
Distance to Darwin 22.2 km 26.4 km
+19% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 23 min 25 min
Public transport score 32/100
Bus
 50/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 5.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 13.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 11 min
scheduled, not actual
 1 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 0832
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 51
postcode 0832
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.

Gunn Johnston
Car (driver) 84.4% / 84.9%
Gunn — Car (driver): 84.4% Johnston — Car (driver): 84.9%
Car (passenger) 7.1% / 7.2%
Gunn — Car (passenger): 7.1% Johnston — Car (passenger): 7.2%
Worked from Home 3.6% / 4.1%
Gunn — Worked from Home: 3.6% Johnston — Worked from Home: 4.1%
Bus 3.5% / 2.3%
Gunn — Bus: 3.5% Johnston — Bus: 2.3%
Walked Only 1.2% / 1.1%
Gunn — Walked Only: 1.2% Johnston — Walked Only: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (84.9%).

Setting

Gunn Johnston
Elevation 24 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 25 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 5.4 km 5.7 km

NBN connectivity

Gunn Johnston
Connectivity score 100/100
same for both
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 100%
986 premises
 100%
529 premises

Climate

Gunn Johnston
Annual rainfall 1,836 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 32.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 19.8°C
same for both

Council rates

Gunn Johnston
Average residential rate $1,608/yr
same for both
Council Palmerston
same for both

Federal electorate

Gunn Johnston
Division Solomon
same for both
Member Luke John Gosling
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Gunn Johnston
Grant amount $50,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Gunn

Family Large Blocks Middle-Ring Parks Quiet River

Johnston

Family Middle-Ring Parks Young Families

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Gunn

Gunn vs Gray Gunn vs Bakewell Gunn vs Farrar Gunn vs Palmerston City

Other comparisons with Johnston

Johnston vs Zuccoli Johnston vs Rosebery Johnston vs Howard Springs Johnston vs Bakewell Johnston vs Holtze Johnston vs Farrar
Full data on Gunn Full data on Johnston
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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.

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