Borroloola NT 0854
Borroloola is a rural locality in Northern Territory, 973 km from Darwin CBD, around 10 hours 20 minutes by car. Population is 755; the median age is 32 and the median household income is $67,652 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. Population fell 13.3% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $33 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,117. 1 school sits within the locality boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Borroloola a good place to live?
Borroloola scores a D (22/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit and community.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 13/100 · 973.4 km · 619 min drive to Darwin
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 32 · 755 residents
Liveability Rating
22 / 100 · Ranked #83 in NTEach bar is Borroloola's rank among NT suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 3 of 5 factors: no school or safety data, so the other factors carry its weight.
No bushfire or crime or flood data is published for Northern Territory — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.
How do you rate the liveability in Borroloola?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
22 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Crime in the Gulf area
Crime recorded across the whole area over the 12 months to Aug 2026, not in Borroloola alone. NT Police publish by town and district, not by suburb, and recent months can take several months to settle.
| Type | Count | Per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| All offences | 488 | 99.3 |
| Assault | 236 | 48.0 |
| Domestic violence assault | 177 | 36.0 |
| Sexual offences | 8 | 1.6 |
| House burglary | 22 | 4.5 |
| Commercial burglary | 40 | 8.1 |
| Theft | 60 | 12.2 |
| Property damage | 90 | 18.3 |
| Robbery and extortion | 3 | 0.6 |
| Endangering people | 28 | 5.7 |
Rates use the Gulf area’s 4,915 residents. The latest month is preliminary and may be revised.
Schools
One school serve Borroloola, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 169 students in one school (avg 169)
Combined
Walkability
Borroloola is very car-dependent on foot — at 13/100, nearly all errands require a car.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Borroloola.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 85
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Roper Gulf: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 4 small areas inside this locality and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the locality closely.
Borroloola is home to 755 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 32 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $68,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.6%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
755
Median Age
32
Median Household Income
$67,652/yr
Census Median Rent
$33/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,117/mo
Avg Household Size
3.5
Median Personal Income
$20,436/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.6%
Unoccupied Dwellings
42.4%
Total Dwellings
184
Owner-Occupier Rate
16.8%
Houses
75.0%
Rental Stress
2.5%
Mortgage Stress
19.8%
Work From Home
4.1%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
21 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 82 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 119 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 87.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 77.0%
- Employment Rate
- 36.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 15.2%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Local Jobs
People who work in this locality against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 297 people work here; 211 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.4 per resident). At least 29% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,569 a year through Roper Gulf based on 2026 figures.
Building Approvals: Roper Gulf
In the year to August 2026, 36 new dwellings were approved across Roper Gulf. That mix is 19 houses and 17 units.
Climate & Setting
from Borroloola Airport, 0.8 kmModerate rainfall — very hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 18 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 44.3 km
- Annual rainfall
- 864 mm
- 54 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 35.5°C
- 157 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 12.7°C
- 0 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the locality centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
1 facility within 5 km- 1.8 kmFossil Fuel Electricity GenerationTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 0854, 0 of 353 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 0.0% (0 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 0.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 0854, 20 rooftop-solar systems totalling 0.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 266 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 2 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$50,000 for new homes.
Administered as the HomeGrown Territory Grant. Established-home buyers may also be eligible for the separate BuildBonus Grant.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Marion Scrymgour Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Marion Scrymgour | 58.1% | 41.9% | +6.5 |
| 2022 | Marion Scrymgour | 51.0% | 49.0% | +4.5 |
| 2019 | Warren Snowdon | 55.5% | 44.5% | +2.7 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Steve Edgington Country Liberal
Next state election: 26 August 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Steve Edgington CLP | 51.9% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Northern Territory Electoral Commission.
Looking at a specific address in Borroloola?
Every figure above is a locality average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 755 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Borroloola to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NT suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Borroloola
Is Borroloola a safe place to live?
NT does not publish suburb-level crime statistics, so there is no crime figure for Borroloola.
Is Borroloola a good place to live?
Borroloola has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (22/100), ranked against other NT suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Borroloola?
Borroloola, NT had a population of 755 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Borroloola, NT?
The postcode for Borroloola, NT is 0854.
How far is Borroloola from Darwin?
Borroloola is 973 km from Darwin CBD by road, about 619 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Borroloola?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Borroloola was $67,652 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Borroloola?
There are too few current rental listings in Borroloola for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $33, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Borroloola?
The median age of residents in Borroloola was 32 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Borroloola?
There is 1 school inside the Borroloola boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Borroloola walkable?
Borroloola scores 13/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the weather like in Borroloola?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Borroloola, Borroloola Airport (0.8 km away), summer days average 35.5°C, winter nights 12.7°C, 864 mm of rain a year over 54 rainy days, and 157 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Borroloola?
First-home buyers in NT may be eligible for $50,000 towards new homes. The grant is administered by Territory Revenue Office; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Borroloola belong to?
Borroloola sits within the Roper Gulf local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Borroloola?
The average residential rates bill through Roper Gulf is $1,569 a year (2026). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Borroloola?
Across Roper Gulf, 36 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Borroloola in?
Borroloola sits within the federal Division of Lingiari, currently held by Marion Scrymgour (Australian Labor Party).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Council rates · FY 2026–27
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2024
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.