Katherine South NT 0850

Katherine South sits 319 km from Darwin CBD in Northern Territory, around 3 hours 20 minutes by car. Census data records 1,507 residents with a median age of 33 and a median household income of $84,864 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $320 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,325. 2 schools sit within the town boundary, and walkability is moderate.

Is Katherine South a good town?

Katherine South scores a C (38/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade.

Schools

Mixed results

2 schools

Transit

Some car dependence

Walkability 45/100 · 318.8 km · 200 min drive to Darwin

Prices

Median available

Median $345K

Community

Below-average income

SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 33 · 1,507 residents

C

Liveability Rating

38 / 100 · Ranked #65 in NT

Each bar is Katherine South'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.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety no data

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.

Socio-economic
31
Disadvantaged
Walkability
52
Somewhat walkable
CBD access
38
318.8 km · 200 min drive to Darwin
How it's calculated: Socio-economic rank 31 × 25% + Walkability rank 52 × 15% + CBD access rank 38 × 10% = 38 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Katherine South?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

38 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Katherine South's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $345,000, about 2% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$345,000

last 5 quarters

10% below its 3 neighbours (median $385,000)

↑ +2.2% year-on-year

Based on 27 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

By bedrooms

  • 3 bed 18 sales $305K
  • 4 bed 8 sales $358K

Units

$260,000

↓ −10.9% year-on-year

Based on 10 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 7 sales $270K

Crime in the Katherine area

Crime recorded across the whole area over the 12 months to Aug 2026, not in Katherine South 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 2,626 233.0
Assault 1,009 89.5
Domestic violence assault 689 61.1
Sexual offences 58 5.1
House burglary 196 17.4
Commercial burglary 97 8.6
Theft 482 42.8
Property damage 619 54.9
Robbery and extortion 54 4.8
Endangering people 107 9.5

Rates use the Katherine area’s 11,269 residents. The latest month is preliminary and may be revised.

Schools

Two schools serve Katherine South, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.

38
out of 100
Weak
2 schools in this town
1 below similar · 1 unrated
  • • 235 students across 2 schools (avg 118)
  • • ICSEA 757-907, median 832 (below the national baseline of 1000)
  • • Largest: Katherine South Primary School (180 students)

Primary

Government · T-6 · 180 students
ICSEA 907 (higher than 12% of Australian schools) · 9% top-SEA students
Below similar

Combined

Government · T-12 · 55 students
ICSEA 757 (higher than 2% of Australian schools) · 4% top-SEA students

Walkability

Katherine South is car-dependent on foot — at 45/100, most errands require a car.

45
out of 100
Car-Dependent
Top 19% in NT
Public Transport within 1 km not measured
Schools within 1.5 km 60
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 80
Hospitals within 5 km 80

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 Katherine South.

100
connectivity score / 100
Top 9% in NT
Most common
Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
100%
Premises covered
852
Technology mix
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 100%

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

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
4 in town
Parks & Reserves
6 in town
Sport & Recreation
2 in town
Beaches
None
Waterways
None
Childcare
2 in town
GPs
1 in town
Pharmacies
1 in town
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
3 in town
Fuel Stations
4 in town
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
2 in town
Places of Worship
2 in town

Katherine: council population

The whole council area, not just Katherine South · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
11,282
+0.8% in a year
Change
+94
people since 2024
Density
1.5
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+85
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-66
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+75
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
3/10
6/10 within NT
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
1/10
5/10 within NT
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
6/10
8/10 within NT
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 5 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.

Katherine South is home to about 1,500 residents, with a median age of 33, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $85,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.6%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

1,507

0.8% since 2016

Median Age

33

8.3% since 2016

Median Household Income

$84,864/yr

12.9% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$320/wk

18.5% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,325/mo

16.8% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.5

8.7% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$47,424/yr

11.4% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

3.6%

20.0% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

16.0%

58.4% since 2016

Total Dwellings

524

15.4% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

31.6%

22.4% since 2016

Houses

49.2%

13.1% since 2016

Rental Stress

19.6%

4.8% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

18.7%

26.4% since 2016

Work From Home

2.4%

14.3% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 258 (49.2%)
Townhouses 201 (38.4%)
Flats / Apartments 65 (12.4%)

Property Ownership

Renting 324 (68.4%)
Mortgage 87 (18.4%)
Owned Outright 63 (13.3%)
Of those rentals, social housing 88 (27.2%)

67 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 21 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 324 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
68.9%
English Spoken at Home
60.8%
Employment Rate
54%
17.1% since 2016
Completed Year 12
31.9%

Occupations

Community & Personal Service 120 (18.5%)
Professionals 118 (18.2%)
Managers 85 (13.1%)
Clerical & Administrative 84 (13.0%)
Technicians & Trades 84 (13.0%)
Labourers 55 (8.5%)
Sales 43 (6.6%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 33 (5.1%)

Religion

No Religion 580 (38.5%)
Christianity 512 (34.0%)
Hinduism 55 (3.6%)
Buddhism 32 (2.1%)
Sikhism 22 (1.5%)
Other Religions 22 (1.5%)
Islam 17 (1.1%)
Judaism 5 (0.3%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

India 40 (2.7%)
Philippines 38 (2.5%)
Nepal 38 (2.5%)
New Zealand 19 (1.3%)
England 15 (1.0%)
Sri Lanka 15 (1.0%)
Vietnam 11 (0.7%)
South Africa 5 (0.3%)

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.

2016-2021 85 (5.6%)
2011-2015 73 (4.8%)
2001-2010 36 (2.4%)
1991-2000 20 (1.3%)
1981-1990 14 (0.9%)
Before 1981 26 (1.7%)

85 residents (5.6%) 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.

12.8% of residents (180) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Darwin (58).

Overseas 78 (5.6%)
Darwin 55 (3.9%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,402 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.

Punjabi 12 (0.8%)
Mandarin 9 (0.6%)
Vietnamese 8 (0.5%)
Sinhalese 5 (0.3%)
Arabic 5 (0.3%)
Hindi 4 (0.3%)
Thai 3 (0.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 105 (7.0%)
5-14 212 (14.1%)
15-19 74 (4.9%)
20-24 97 (6.4%)
25-34 299 (19.8%)
35-44 216 (14.3%)
45-54 175 (11.6%)
55-64 171 (11.3%)
65-74 114 (7.6%)
75-84 32 (2.1%)
85+ 9 (0.6%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 167 (41.8%)
Couple Families 115 (28.7%)
One Parent Families 68 (17.0%)
Group Household 41 (10.2%)
Other Families 9 (2.2%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 468 (81.8%)
Car (passenger) 49 (8.6%)
Walked Only 31 (5.4%)
Worked from Home 14 (2.4%)
Bicycle 10 (1.7%)

1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (4 of 647).

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.

Education

Certificate III & IV 160 (10.6%)
Bachelor Degree 148 (9.8%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 88 (5.8%)
Postgraduate Degree 51 (3.4%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 26 (1.7%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 47 (10.1%)
1 car 193 (41.5%)
2 cars 160 (34.4%)
3 cars 35 (7.5%)
4+ cars 27 (5.8%)

Council Rates

Katherine
FY 2025-26

Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,781 a year through Katherine based on 2025 figures.

Avg residential rate
$2,781/yr
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

Building Approvals: Katherine

The whole council area, not just Katherine South · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 31 new dwellings were approved across Katherine. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses.

Trailing 12 months
31dwellings
Houses
31
detached dwellings
Units
0
townhouses + apartments

Climate & Setting

from Katherine Council, 2.6 km

High rainfall.

Elevation
106 m
above sea level, at the town centre
Annual rainfall
956 mm
41 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
—
Winter min (Jul)
—

Elevation is the ground at the town 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

5 facilities within 5 km

EV adoption

0.1%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.1 points this year

In postcode 0850, 8 of 6,060 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.2% (131 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.3%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.00%
2023
0.00%
2024
0.00%
2025
0.13%

Rooftop solar

35
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 9.5 kW each

In postcode 0850, 1,004 rooftop-solar systems totalling 9.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,878 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 28 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.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
106
2020
252
2021
79
2022
58
2023
23
2024
24
2025
32
2026
12

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.

Verify eligibility with Territory Revenue Office

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$1,799
Loan amount
$276,000
Total interest over 30 years
$371,753
Deposit
$69,000
Stamp duty
$12,997
Cash needed at settlement
$81,997

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

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 2026-10-26 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of Lingiari

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 town's voters across time.

State Electorate

Division of Katherine

Currently held by Jo Hersey Country Liberal

Next state election: 26 August 2028.

Year Winner Won with
2024 Jo Hersey CLP 62.2%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Northern Territory Electoral Commission.

Looking at a specific address in Katherine South?

Every figure above is a town 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.

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Common questions about Katherine South

Is Katherine South a safe place to live?

NT does not publish suburb-level crime statistics, so there is no crime figure for Katherine South.

Is Katherine South a good place to live?

Katherine South has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (38/100), 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 Katherine South?

Katherine South, NT had a population of 1,507 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Katherine South, NT?

The postcode for Katherine South, NT is 0850.

How far is Katherine South from Darwin?

Katherine South is 319 km from Darwin CBD by road, about 200 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Katherine South?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Katherine South was $84,864 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 Katherine South?

There are too few current rental listings in Katherine South for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $320, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Katherine South?

The median age of residents in Katherine South was 33 at the 2021 ABS Census.

How are the schools in Katherine South?

There are 2 schools inside the Katherine South boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Katherine South walkable?

Katherine South scores 45/100 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 Katherine South?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Katherine South, Katherine Council (2.6 km away), 956 mm of rain a year over 41 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Katherine South?

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 Katherine South belong to?

Katherine South sits within the Katherine local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Katherine South?

The average residential rates bill through Katherine is $2,781 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Katherine South?

Across Katherine, 31 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 Katherine South in?

Katherine South sits within the federal Division of Lingiari, currently held by Marion Scrymgour (Australian Labor Party).

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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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