Macarthur vs Chisholm

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Macarthur, most households are couple families. In Chisholm, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Macarthur: a median of $1.02 million, against $890,000 in Chisholm, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Macarthur tends to suit couples.

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

Macarthur

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 71/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (80% vs 67%)
  • But Chisholm has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Chisholm

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($890,000 vs $1,017,500)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Chisholm

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (20% vs 10%)
  • has cheaper rent ($410/wk vs $520/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Chisholm

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (71/100 vs 35/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Macarthur carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 71/100)
  • Chisholm is more walkable (71/100 vs 35/100)

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

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

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

Macarthur Chisholm
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.

Macarthur Chisholm
Walkability 35 / 71
Macarthur — Walkability: 35/100 Chisholm — Walkability: 71/100
Safety 88 / 29
Macarthur — Safety: 88/100 Chisholm — Safety: 29/100
Low fire risk 7 / 12
Macarthur — Low fire risk: 7/100 Chisholm — Low fire risk: 12/100
Low flood risk 100 / 80
Macarthur — Low flood risk: 100/100 Chisholm — Low flood risk: 80/100

Demographics

Chisholm has more residents (5,268 vs 1,405); Macarthur has higher household incomes ($157,924 vs $119,184).

Macarthur Chisholm
Population 1,405 5,268
+275% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -1.5% +2.9%
Median age 39 37
Median household income $157,924/yr
+25% vs other
 $119,184/yr
Median weekly rent $520/wk
+21% vs other
 $410/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Macarthur Chisholm
0-4 6.3% / 6.9%
Macarthur — 0-4: 6.3% Chisholm — 0-4: 6.9%
5-14 15.3% / 13.9%
Macarthur — 5-14: 15.3% Chisholm — 5-14: 13.9%
15-19 5.3% / 5.8%
Macarthur — 15-19: 5.3% Chisholm — 15-19: 5.8%
20-24 4.6% / 6.0%
Macarthur — 20-24: 4.6% Chisholm — 20-24: 6.0%
25-34 11.3% / 13.6%
Macarthur — 25-34: 11.3% Chisholm — 25-34: 13.6%
35-44 14.1% / 13.5%
Macarthur — 35-44: 14.1% Chisholm — 35-44: 13.5%
45-54 13.1% / 12.1%
Macarthur — 45-54: 13.1% Chisholm — 45-54: 12.1%
55-64 14.1% / 15.1%
Macarthur — 55-64: 14.1% Chisholm — 55-64: 15.1%
65-74 12.7% / 9.4%
Macarthur — 65-74: 12.7% Chisholm — 65-74: 9.4%
75-84 2.5% / 3.1%
Macarthur — 75-84: 2.5% Chisholm — 75-84: 3.1%
85+ 1.0% / 0.5%
Macarthur — 85+: 1.0% Chisholm — 85+: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Macarthur 66.1% couple families
Macarthur — Couple Families: 66.1% Macarthur — Lone Person: 19.0% Macarthur — One Parent Families: 14.0% Macarthur — Group Household: 0.9% Macarthur — Other Families: 0.0%
Chisholm 50.7% couple families
Chisholm — Couple Families: 50.7% Chisholm — Lone Person: 28.4% Chisholm — One Parent Families: 16.7% Chisholm — Group Household: 2.9% Chisholm — Other Families: 1.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Macarthur 10.0% renting
Macarthur — Owned Outright: 42.9% Macarthur — Mortgage: 47.1% Macarthur — Renting: 10.0%
Chisholm 20.1% renting
Chisholm — Owned Outright: 29.3% Chisholm — Mortgage: 50.6% Chisholm — Renting: 20.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Macarthur Chisholm
Bachelor Degree 17.7% / 11.3%
Macarthur — Bachelor Degree: 17.7% Chisholm — Bachelor Degree: 11.3%
Certificate III & IV 12.9% / 15.0%
Macarthur — Certificate III & IV: 12.9% Chisholm — Certificate III & IV: 15.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.6% / 9.0%
Macarthur — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.6% Chisholm — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.0%
Postgraduate Degree 6.5% / 4.5%
Macarthur — Postgraduate Degree: 6.5% Chisholm — Postgraduate Degree: 4.5%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4.5% / 2.8%
Macarthur — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.5% Chisholm — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.7%).

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.

Macarthur Chisholm
England 4.5% / 2.7%
Macarthur — England: 4.5% Chisholm — England: 2.7%
India 1.7% / 2.1%
Macarthur — India: 1.7% Chisholm — India: 2.1%
New Zealand 0.7% / 1.1%
Macarthur — New Zealand: 0.7% Chisholm — New Zealand: 1.1%
Philippines 0.7% / 1.1%
Macarthur — Philippines: 0.7% Chisholm — Philippines: 1.1%
Germany 0.6% / 0.6%
Macarthur — Germany: 0.6% Chisholm — Germany: 0.6%
South Africa 0.9% / —
Macarthur — South Africa: 0.9% Chisholm — South Africa: not among its largest
Sri Lanka 0.8% / —
Macarthur — Sri Lanka: 0.8% Chisholm — Sri Lanka: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.5%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Macarthur 97.3% houses
Macarthur — Houses: 97.3% Macarthur — Townhouses: 2.9% Macarthur — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Chisholm 95.8% houses
Chisholm — Houses: 95.8% Chisholm — Townhouses: 3.2% Chisholm — Flats / Apartments: 1.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Macarthur Chisholm
Median house price $1,017,500 $890,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 23 days
from 17 sales
 18 days
from 42 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.

Macarthur Chisholm
3 bed $918K / $845K
Macarthur — 3 bed: $918K (12 sales) Chisholm — 3 bed: $845K (58 sales)

12 vs 58 sales

4 bed $1.16M / $952K
Macarthur — 4 bed: $1.16M (20 sales) Chisholm — 4 bed: $952K (54 sales)

20 vs 54 sales

Development activity

Macarthur Chisholm
New dwellings approved 3,750
across Unincorporated ACT
same for both
Approvals change year on year -48%
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.

Macarthur Chisholm
Houses — 4.0%
$720/wk on $935K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within ACT

Macarthur Chisholm
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 86% of ACT Higher than 39% of ACT
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 21% of ACT Higher than 66% of ACT
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 22% of ACT Higher than 1% of ACT
NBN connectivity Higher than 12% of ACT Higher than 26% of ACT
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 33% of ACT

Liveability

Macarthur scores higher overall (50 vs 20); Chisholm is more walkable (71 vs 35).

Macarthur Chisholm
Grade B D
Score 50/100 20/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Chisholm carries more flood risk (20 vs 0); Chisholm carries more crime risk (71 vs 12).

Macarthur Chisholm
Bushfire High
93/100
 High
88/100
Crime Low
12/100
 High
71/100
Flood None
0/100
 Low
20/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 6
within 5 km
 4
within 5 km

Schools

Macarthur Chisholm
Inside the suburb 0 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Macarthur

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

Schools in Chisholm

  • Caroline Chisholm School Government · Secondary
  • Caroline Chisholm School - Junior Campus Government · Primary

Amenities in the suburb

Macarthur Chisholm
Supermarkets 0 2
Cafes & restaurants 0 3
Parks & reserves 0 1
Childcare 1 3
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Fuel stations 0 1
EV chargers 0 1

Mobility

Macarthur Chisholm
Walkability score 35/100 71/100
Distance to Canberra 22.3 km 22.8 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 26 min 27 min
Public transport score 31/100
Bus
 78/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 4.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 88.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 13 min
scheduled, not actual
 0.5 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 2.1%
postcode 2904
 1.4%
postcode 2905
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 56
postcode 2904
 47
postcode 2905

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.

Macarthur Chisholm
Car (driver) 77.9% / 80.1%
Macarthur — Car (driver): 77.9% Chisholm — Car (driver): 80.1%
Worked from Home 13.6% / 9.7%
Macarthur — Worked from Home: 13.6% Chisholm — Worked from Home: 9.7%
Car (passenger) 6.0% / 6.1%
Macarthur — Car (passenger): 6.0% Chisholm — Car (passenger): 6.1%
Bus 1.4% / 3.2%
Macarthur — Bus: 1.4% Chisholm — Bus: 3.2%
Bicycle 0.5% / 0.7%
Macarthur — Bicycle: 0.5% Chisholm — Bicycle: 0.7%
Walked Only 0.6% / 0.3%
Macarthur — Walked Only: 0.6% Chisholm — Walked Only: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (80.1%).

Setting

Macarthur Chisholm
Elevation 659 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 630 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Macarthur Chisholm
Connectivity score 45/100 47/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
513 premises
 3%
2,069 premises

Climate

Macarthur Chisholm
Annual rainfall 686 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 28.2°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 0.9°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Macarthur Chisholm
PM2.5 7.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 11.9 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.32 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Macarthur Chisholm
Average residential rate $3,105/yr
same for both
Council Unincorporated ACT
same for both

Federal electorate

Macarthur Chisholm
Division Bean
same for both
Member David Smith
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Macarthur Chisholm
Grant amount Not offered
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility None
same for both

Tags

Macarthur

Large Blocks Middle-Ring Quiet

Chisholm

Affordable Large Blocks Middle-Ring Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Macarthur

Macarthur vs Fadden Macarthur vs Gilmore

Other comparisons with Chisholm

Chisholm vs Gowrie Chisholm vs Richardson Chisholm vs Fadden Chisholm vs Gilmore
Full data on Macarthur Full data on Chisholm
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or