Lawson ACT 2617
Lawson sits 10 km from Canberra CBD in Australian Capital Territory, around 17 minutes by car. Census data records 2,739 residents with a median age of 28 and a median household income of $129,584 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew roughly 19× its 2016 size from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $548 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,000. The area shows high flood risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. Walkability is moderate.
Is Lawson a good suburb?
Lawson scores a B (63/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community.
Close to the CBD
Walkability 47/100 · 10.3 km · 17 min drive to Canberra
Median available
Median $985K
Moderate flood risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 39/100 · Flood 65/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 28 · 2,739 residents
Liveability Rating
63 / 100 · Ranked #25 in ACTEach bar is Lawson's rank among ACT suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Lawson?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
63 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median Unit Price
Public listings dataLawson's unit market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $652,000, roughly 10% above where it sat a year earlier.
Units
$652,500
Based on 48 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 47 days — median across 23 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 6 sales $380K
- 2 bed 19 sales $565K
- 3 bed 17 sales $720K
Houses
$985,000
4% below its 5 neighbours (median $1,030,000)
Based on 11 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 25 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 4 bed 6 sales $1.3M
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Lawson are currently listed at around $695,000 on average. Based on 33 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$695K
33 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$429K
7 units listed in the last 6 months.
40 of the suburb's 990 dwellings (4.0%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Lawson rent for around $720 a week on average, based on 31 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$720/wk
In line with its 3 neighbours (median $715/wk)
31 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$700/wk
3 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
34 rentals advertised against an estimated 461 rented homes (7.4%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025139 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 22% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2617.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$720/week ($37,000 a year) on a $695,000 median
$700/week ($36,000 a year) on a $429,000 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.
Is Lawson safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Lawson sits in the low band, with 9 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 36% on the prior year.
9 offences
35.7% since 2024Crime Trend
Schools
Universities nearby
- 2.3 kmUC - Canberra, BruceUniversity of Canberra · 192 courses
- 5.3 kmAustralian National UniversityAustralian National University · 420 courses
8.0% of residents here are full-time university students aged 15–24.
Distance is measured to the suburb centre. A campus nearby does not by itself mean a student rental market — most suburbs within a few kilometres of one have a student share close to the national norm, and the figure above is what tells them apart.
Walkability
Lawson is car-dependent on foot — at 47/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Lawson.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 47.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 39.9 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 20.8 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 17.7 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 Lawson.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 100%
- Premises covered
- 1,088
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
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 6 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the suburb closely.
Lawson is home to about 2,700 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 28 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $130,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.4%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,739
Median Age
28
Median Household Income
$129,584/yr
Census Median Rent
$548/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,000/mo
Avg Household Size
2.6
Median Personal Income
$61,880/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.4%
Unoccupied Dwellings
5.3%
Total Dwellings
990
Owner-Occupier Rate
53.4%
Houses
19.6%
Rental Stress
22.0%
Mortgage Stress
18.5%
Work From Home
9.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
5 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 9 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 453 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 44.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 42.9%
- Employment Rate
- 78.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 74.7%
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.
469 residents (17.1%) 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.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,581 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
27% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (512 of 1,877).
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
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $3,105 a year through Unincorporated ACT based on 2026 figures.
Building Approvals: Unincorporated ACT
In the year to August 2026, 3,750 new dwellings were approved across Unincorporated ACT. That mix is 813 houses and 2,937 units. Approvals are down 47.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 6.6 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 11 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.41 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 2 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Florey monitoring station, 4.1 km away. ACT Health publishes these readings unverified, so they may still be revised.
Climate & Setting
from Canberra Airport, 13.7 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, frosty winters.
- Elevation
- 588 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Near high-voltage lines
- 7.8% of addresses
- 86 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 622 mm
- 69 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 28.5°C
- 10 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 0.8°C
- 61 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
4 facilities within 5 km- 1.8 kmHigher EducationTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
- 3.1 kmHospitals (Except Psychiatric Hospitals)Top reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
- 4.6 km
- 4.8 kmLaundry and Dry-Cleaning ServicesTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 2617, 683 of 25,575 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 4.9% (1,244 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 7.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2617, 4,510 rooftop-solar systems totalling 33.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 15,564 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 303 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
FY2026-27No First Home Owner Grant is available in this state — the scheme has been replaced with a separate stamp-duty concession.
The Home Buyer Concession Scheme (HBCS) instead provides a stamp-duty reduction of up to ~$34,000 for eligible buyers under the income threshold.
Mortgage repayments
1 mortgage broker is registered in this suburb, 12 across postcode 2617.
Conveyance 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 ACT 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 Alicia Payne Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Alicia Payne | 76.4% | 23.6% | +4.0 |
| 2022 | Alicia Payne | 72.5% | 27.5% | -5.4 |
| 2019 | Alicia Payne | 67.1% | 32.9% | -4.1 |
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
Elected at the 2024 election:
- Tara Cheyne ACT Labor
- Yvette Berry ACT Labor
- Peter Cain Canberra Liberals
- Jo Clay The ACT Greens
- Chiaka Barry Canberra Liberals
Next election: 21 October 2028.
| Year | Seats won |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 ACT Labor · 2 Canberra Liberals · 1 The ACT Greens |
| 2020 | 2 Australian Labor Party · 2 Canberra Liberals · 1 ACT Greens |
A vacancy here is filled by a recount of the original votes, not a by-election, so a member listed may since have been replaced. Boundaries were last redrawn in 2023. Results: Elections ACT.
Looking at a specific address in Lawson?
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 2,739 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.
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Checking the whole city?
Suburbs to avoid in Canberra There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Canberra suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.Nearby suburbs
Compare Lawson to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other ACT suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about Lawson
Is Lawson a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Lawson is low (39/100, ranked against other ACT suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Lawson?
Lawson has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a moderate share of it (65/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Lawson a good place to live?
Lawson has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (63/100), ranked against other ACT 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 Lawson?
Lawson, ACT had a population of 2,739 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Lawson, ACT?
The postcode for Lawson, ACT is 2617.
How far is Lawson from Canberra?
Lawson is 10 km from Canberra CBD by road, about 17 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Lawson?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Lawson was $129,584 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 Lawson?
The median advertised rent in Lawson is $720 a week for houses (31 listings) and $700 a week for units (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Lawson?
The median age of residents in Lawson was 28 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Lawson walkable?
Lawson scores 47/100 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 air quality in Lawson?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Lawson (Florey) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.6 µg/m³ and PM10 of 11.0 µg/m³. That puts Lawson below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Lawson?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Lawson, Canberra Airport (13.7 km away), summer days average 28.5°C, winter nights 0.8°C, 622 mm of rain a year over 69 rainy days, and 10 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
What first-home buyer assistance is available in Lawson?
ACT does not have a First Home Owner Grant — the scheme was replaced with the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, a stamp-duty reduction for eligible first-home buyers under the income threshold. Confirm eligibility with the ACT Revenue Office before signing a contract.
What council does Lawson belong to?
Lawson sits within the Unincorporated ACT local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Lawson?
The average residential rates bill through Unincorporated ACT is $3,105 a year (2026). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Lawson?
Across Unincorporated ACT, 3,750 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 47.7% 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 Lawson in?
Lawson sits within the federal Division of Canberra, currently held by Alicia Payne (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
- Crime · 2025
- Air quality · 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.