Macarthur ACT 2904
Located in Australian Capital Territory, Macarthur sits 22 km from Canberra CBD, around 26 minutes by car. The suburb has 1,405 residents, a median age of 39, and a median household income of $157,924 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population fell 1.5% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $520 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,200. The area shows high bushfire risk and no recorded flood exposure. Walkability is low.
Is Macarthur a good suburb?
Macarthur scores a B (50/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on safety.
Somewhat walkable
Walkability 35/100 · 22.3 km · 26 min drive to Canberra
Median available
Median $1.02M
High bushfire risk
Fire 93/100 · Crime 12/100 · Flood 0/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 39 · 1,405 residents
Liveability Rating
50 / 100 · Ranked #51 in ACTEach bar is Macarthur'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 Macarthur?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
50 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataMacarthur's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $1.02 million, about 6% below where it sat a year earlier.
$1,017,500
14% above its 3 neighbours (median $890,000)
Based on 36 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 23 days — median across 17 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 12 sales $918K
- 4 bed 20 sales $1.16M
Rental Market
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025115 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 26% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2904.
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.
Is Macarthur safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Macarthur sits in the low band, with 3 incidents recorded in 2025.
3 offences
no change since 2024Crime Trend
Schools
Walkability
Macarthur is car-dependent on foot — at 35/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Macarthur.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 4.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 3.2 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 1.8 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 13 min
- Span of service
- 16.8 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 Macarthur.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 513
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
Macarthur is home to about 1,400 residents, with a median age of 39, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $158,000 a year, with unemployment at 2.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,405
Median Age
39
Median Household Income
$157,924/yr
Census Median Rent
$520/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,200/mo
Avg Household Size
2.9
Median Personal Income
$69,368/yr
Unemployment Rate
2.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
1.8%
Total Dwellings
488
Owner-Occupier Rate
90.0%
Houses
97.3%
Rental Stress
17.1%
Mortgage Stress
16.7%
Work From Home
13.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 82.6%
- English Spoken at Home
- 90.0%
- Employment Rate
- 67.8%
- Completed Year 12
- 57.9%
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.
15 residents (1.1%) 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 1,316 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
21% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (159 of 745).
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 7.3 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 9 days exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 11.9 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.32 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Monash monitoring station, 3.7 km away. ACT Health publishes these readings unverified, so they may still be revised.
Climate & Setting
from Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS, 3.7 kmModerate rainfall — warm summers, frosty winters.
- Elevation
- 659 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Annual rainfall
- 686 mm
- 67 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 28.2°C
- 8 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 0.9°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
6 facilities within 5 km- 1.7 kmOther Electricity GenerationTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Sulfur dioxide
- 2.1 kmOther Petroleum and Coal Product ManufacturingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 2.3 kmWaste Treatment and Disposal ServicesTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 2.9 kmOther Petroleum and Coal Product ManufacturingTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Oxides of Nitrogen
- 4.0 kmOther Petroleum and Coal Product ManufacturingTop reported: Fluoride compounds · Manganese & compounds
EV adoption
In postcode 2904, 205 of 9,714 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 4.2% (406 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 6.3%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2904, 2,774 rooftop-solar systems totalling 18.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 4,953 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 148 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
7 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2904.
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 2026-10-26 — 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 David Smith Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | David Smith | 69.3% | 30.7% | +6.3 |
| 2022 | David Smith | 63.0% | 37.0% | -5.4 |
| 2019 | David Smith | 57.5% | 42.5% | +1.3 |
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:
- Mark Parton Canberra Liberals
- Deborah Morris Canberra Liberals
- Caitlin Tough ACT Labor
- Taimus Werner-Gibbings ACT Labor
- Laura Nuttall The ACT Greens
Next election: 21 October 2028.
| Year | Seats won |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 Canberra Liberals · 2 ACT Labor · 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 Macarthur?
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 1,405 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
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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
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Common questions about Macarthur
Is Macarthur a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Macarthur is low (12/100, ranked against other ACT suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Macarthur?
Macarthur has a high recorded bushfire history (93/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). No mapped flood overlay applies. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Macarthur a good place to live?
Macarthur has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (50/100), 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 Macarthur?
Macarthur, ACT had a population of 1,405 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Macarthur, ACT?
The postcode for Macarthur, ACT is 2904.
How far is Macarthur from Canberra?
Macarthur is 22 km from Canberra CBD by road, about 26 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Macarthur?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Macarthur was $157,924 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 Macarthur?
There are too few current rental listings in Macarthur for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $520, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Macarthur?
The median age of residents in Macarthur was 39 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Macarthur at risk of bushfire?
Macarthur has a high recorded bushfire history (93/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
Is Macarthur walkable?
Macarthur scores 35/100 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 Macarthur?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Macarthur (Monash) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 7.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 11.9 µg/m³. That puts Macarthur 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 Macarthur?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Macarthur, Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS (3.7 km away), summer days average 28.2°C, winter nights 0.9°C, 686 mm of rain a year over 67 rainy days, and 8 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
What first-home buyer assistance is available in Macarthur?
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 Macarthur belong to?
Macarthur 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 Macarthur?
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 Macarthur?
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 Macarthur in?
Macarthur sits within the federal Division of Bean, currently held by David Smith (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.