Desert Springs NT 0870
Desert Springs sits 1,501 km from Darwin CBD in Northern Territory, around 15 hours 55 minutes by car. Census data records 1,536 residents with a median age of 36 and a median household income of $157,300 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 4.0% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $500 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,264. Walkability is low.
Is Desert Springs a good suburb?
Desert Springs scores a B (64/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community.
Some car dependence
Walkability 30/100 · 1500.7 km · 953 min drive to Darwin
Median available
Median $760K
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 36 · 1,536 residents
Liveability Rating
64 / 100 · Ranked #34 in NTEach bar is Desert Springs'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 Desert Springs?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
64 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataDesert Springs's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $760,000, about 9% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$760,000
39% above its 3 neighbours (median $545,000)
Based on 47 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 54 days — median across 20 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 12 sales $738K
- 4 bed 20 sales $775K
- 5 bed 15 sales $765K
Units
$400,000
58% above its 4 neighbours (median $252,500)
Based on 23 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 46 days — median across 5 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 20 sales $395K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Desert Springs are currently listed at around $948,000 on average. Based on 22 houses listed in the past six months.
$948K
22 houses listed in the last 6 months.
24 of the suburb's 525 dwellings (4.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Desert Springs rent for around $1,275 a week on average, based on 3 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$1,275/wk
3 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
4 rentals advertised against an estimated 193 rented homes (2.1%) in the last 6 months.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$1,275/week ($66,000 a year) on a $948,000 median
Based on a small sample (3 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Crime in the Alice Springs area
Crime recorded across the whole area over the 12 months to Aug 2026, not in Desert Springs 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 | 5,811 | 188.2 |
| Assault | 1,898 | 61.5 |
| Domestic violence assault | 1,304 | 42.2 |
| Sexual offences | 105 | 3.4 |
| House burglary | 493 | 16.0 |
| Commercial burglary | 135 | 4.4 |
| Theft | 1,229 | 39.8 |
| Property damage | 1,645 | 53.3 |
| Robbery and extortion | 68 | 2.2 |
| Endangering people | 236 | 7.6 |
Rates use the Alice Springs area’s 30,875 residents. The latest month is preliminary and may be revised.
Schools
Walkability
Desert Springs is car-dependent on foot — at 30/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Desert Springs.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 1.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 1.0 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.8 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 2 min
- Span of service
- 9.5 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Desert Springs.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 42%
- Premises covered
- 656
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
Alice Springs: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Desert Springs is home to about 1,500 residents, with a median age of 36, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $157,000 a year, with unemployment at 1.6%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,536
Median Age
36
Median Household Income
$157,300/yr
Census Median Rent
$500/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,264/mo
Avg Household Size
2.8
Median Personal Income
$75,608/yr
Unemployment Rate
1.6%
Unoccupied Dwellings
16.6%
Total Dwellings
525
Owner-Occupier Rate
63.3%
Houses
66.9%
Rental Stress
16.5%
Mortgage Stress
17.3%
Work From Home
4.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 60.5%
- English Spoken at Home
- 78.2%
- Employment Rate
- 78.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 53.6%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
203 residents (13.2%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
15.3% of residents (217) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Adelaide (49).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,420 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (10 of 954).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 240 people work here; 954 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 72% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
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 $2,106 a year through Alice Springs based on 2026 figures.
Building Approvals: Alice Springs
In the year to August 2026, 30 new dwellings were approved across Alice Springs. That mix is 16 houses and 14 units. Approvals are up 25.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Alice Springs Airport, 9.0 kmDry climate — very hot summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 584 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Annual rainfall
- 285 mm
- 28 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 36.6°C
- 111 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 4.5°C
- 15 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the suburb 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
6 facilities within 5 km- 0.8 kmFossil Fuel Electricity GenerationTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
- 2.9 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · n-Hexane · Toluene (methylbenzene)
- 3.1 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 3.8 kmWaste Treatment and Disposal ServicesTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Chlorine & compounds · Ammonia (total)
- 4.1 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Ammonia (total)
EV adoption
In postcode 0870, 68 of 15,434 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.8% (431 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.2%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 0870, 3,140 rooftop-solar systems totalling 22.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 7,941 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 75 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.
Mortgage repayments
3 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 870.
Stamp duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Territory Revenue Office
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
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 suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Robyn Lambley Independent
Next state election: 26 August 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Robyn Lambley IND | 64.7% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Northern Territory Electoral Commission.
Looking at a specific address in Desert Springs?
Every figure above is a suburb 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 1,536 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.
Featured in
- #1 in Alice Springs suburbs with the most parkland nearby
- #1 in Alice Springs suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city
- #1 in Alice Springs's most owner-occupied suburbs
- #1 in Northern Territory suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city
- #3 in The most liveable suburbs in Alice Springs
- #3 in Alice Springs suburbs with the best NBN connectivity
- #7 in Alice Springs suburbs with the deepest rental markets
- #7 in Most walkable suburbs in Alice Springs
- #7 in Alice Springs suburbs that suit young professionals
- #8 in Best Alice Springs suburbs for first-home buyers (houses)
- #9 in Alice Springs suburbs that grew fastest, 2016-2021
- #9 in Alice Springs suburbs that added the most residents, 2016-2021
- #10 in Alice Springs suburbs with the best public transport
Nearby suburbs
Compare Desert Springs to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NT suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about Desert Springs
Is Desert Springs a safe place to live?
NT does not publish suburb-level crime statistics, so there is no crime figure for Desert Springs.
Is Desert Springs a good place to live?
Desert Springs has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (64/100), 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 Desert Springs?
Desert Springs, NT had a population of 1,536 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Desert Springs, NT?
The postcode for Desert Springs, NT is 0870.
How far is Desert Springs from Darwin?
Desert Springs is 1,501 km from Darwin CBD by road, about 953 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Desert Springs?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Desert Springs was $157,300 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 Desert Springs?
The median advertised rent in Desert Springs is $1,275 a week for houses (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Desert Springs?
The median age of residents in Desert Springs was 36 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Desert Springs walkable?
Desert Springs scores 30/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it 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 Desert Springs?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Desert Springs, Alice Springs Airport (9 km away), summer days average 36.6°C, winter nights 4.5°C, 285 mm of rain a year over 28 rainy days, and 111 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Desert Springs?
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 Desert Springs belong to?
Desert Springs sits within the Alice Springs local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Desert Springs?
The average residential rates bill through Alice Springs is $2,106 a year (2026). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Desert Springs?
Across Alice Springs, 30 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 25.0% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Desert Springs in?
Desert Springs sits within the federal Division of Lingiari, currently held by Marion Scrymgour (Australian Labor Party).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2026–27
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- 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.