Theodore ACT 2905

Theodore sits 26 km from Canberra CBD in Australian Capital Territory, around 30 minutes by car. Census data records 3,798 residents with a median age of 36 and a median household income of $134,576 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $430 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,002. The area shows high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.

Is Theodore a good suburb?

Theodore scores a D (20/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on safety.

Schools

Mixed results

1 school

Transit

Somewhat walkable

Walkability 45/100 · 26 km · 30 min drive to Canberra

Prices

Median available

Median $899K

Safety

High bushfire risk

Fire 84/100 · Crime 44/100 · Flood 18/100

Community

Very advantaged

SEIFA decile 9/10 · median age 36 · 3,798 residents

D

Liveability Rating

20 / 100 · Ranked #98 in ACT

Each bar is Theodore'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.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
38
Bushfire High · Crime Moderate · Flood Low
Socio-economic
15
Very advantaged
Walkability
10
Somewhat walkable
CBD access
4
26.0 km · 30 min drive to Canberra
How it's calculated: Safety rank 38 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 15 × 25% + Walkability rank 10 × 15% + CBD access rank 4 × 10% = 20 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Theodore?

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

Our score

20 / 100

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

Residents say

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Theodore's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $899,000, about 9% above where it sat a year earlier.

$898,750

last 7 quarters

In line with its 3 neighbours (median $900,000)

↑ +8.7% year-on-year

Based on 96 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 18 days — median across 43 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 3 bed 43 sales $840K
  • 4 bed 42 sales $968K
  • 5 bed 8 sales $1.1M

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Theodore are currently listed at around $758,000 on average. Based on 18 houses listed in the past six months.

$758K

last 3 months
↓ −17.2% vs previous 6 months from $915K
Since 2023: $790K → $805K (+2%)

18 houses listed in the last 6 months.

18 of the suburb's 1,320 dwellings (1.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Theodore rent for around $580 a week on average, based on 3 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$580/wk

3 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

3 rentals advertised against an estimated 238 rented homes (1.3%) in the last 6 months.

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

131 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 23% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2905.

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
House
4.0% above the typical range

$580/week ($30,000 a year) on a $758,000 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 Theodore safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Theodore sits in the moderate band, with 20 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 13% on the prior year.

20 offences

13.0% since 2024
Property Damage 20 (100.0%)

Crime Trend

Schools

One school serve Theodore, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.

38
out of 100
Weak
1 school in this suburb
1 below similar
  • • 206 students in one school (avg 206)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 206 students
ICSEA 974 (higher than 35% of Australian schools) · 9% top-SEA students
Below similar

Walkability

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

45
out of 100
Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km 72
Schools within 1.5 km 100
Parks within 800 m 0
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 100
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Theodore.

78
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
36.5 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
31.0 arrivals/hr
Saturday
16.3 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
17.2 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 Theodore.

62
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
24%
Premises covered
1,440
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 66%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 24%
Fibre to the curb (FTTC) 10%

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
None
Parks & Reserves
1 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
1 in suburb
Beaches
None
Waterways
None
Childcare
2 in suburb
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
9/10
2/10 within ACT
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
7/10
7/10 within ACT
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
8/10
1/10 within ACT
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 10 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 6 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.

Theodore is home to about 3,800 residents, with a median age of 36, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $135,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.3%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

3,798

no change since 2016

Median Age

36

9.1% since 2016

Median Household Income

$134,576/yr

21.9% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$430/wk

16.2% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$2,002/mo

2.1% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.8

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$62,140/yr

21.7% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

4.3%

4.4% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

5.2%

3.7% since 2016

Total Dwellings

1,320

1.3% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

82.0%

2.1% since 2016

Houses

94.8%

0.7% since 2016

Rental Stress

16.6%

4.6% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

17.9%

19.4% since 2016

Work From Home

9.7%

361.9% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 1,252 (94.8%)
Townhouses 64 (4.8%)
Flats / Apartments 4 (0.3%)

Property Ownership

Mortgage 723 (55.7%)
Owned Outright 342 (26.3%)
Renting 234 (18.0%)
Of those rentals, social housing 79 (33.8%)

79 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 0 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 234 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
80.1%
English Spoken at Home
84.8%
Employment Rate
71.4%
0.8% since 2016
Completed Year 12
51.6%

Occupations

Professionals 466 (21.3%)
Clerical & Administrative 408 (18.6%)
Managers 338 (15.4%)
Technicians & Trades 296 (13.5%)
Community & Personal Service 248 (11.3%)
Sales 149 (6.8%)
Labourers 141 (6.4%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 87 (4.0%)

Religion

No Religion 1,706 (44.9%)
Christianity 1,671 (44.0%)
Islam 84 (2.2%)
Buddhism 76 (2.0%)
Hinduism 53 (1.4%)
Other Religions 30 (0.8%)
Sikhism 11 (0.3%)
Judaism 8 (0.2%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 103 (2.7%)
India 61 (1.6%)
New Zealand 47 (1.2%)
Vietnam 32 (0.8%)
Philippines 29 (0.8%)
Sri Lanka 24 (0.6%)
Fiji 23 (0.6%)
China 16 (0.4%)

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 44 (1.2%)
2011-2015 90 (2.4%)
2001-2010 131 (3.4%)
1991-2000 96 (2.5%)
1981-1990 109 (2.9%)
Before 1981 194 (5.1%)

44 residents (1.2%) 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.

Capital Region 89 (2.5%)
Overseas 42 (1.2%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 3,568 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.

Vietnamese 17 (0.4%)
Hindi 16 (0.4%)
Spanish 15 (0.4%)
Arabic 14 (0.4%)
Mandarin 12 (0.3%)
Italian 10 (0.3%)
German 10 (0.3%)
Thai 9 (0.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 230 (6.1%)
5-14 500 (13.2%)
15-19 280 (7.4%)
20-24 255 (6.7%)
25-34 565 (14.9%)
35-44 502 (13.2%)
45-54 540 (14.2%)
55-64 569 (15.0%)
65-74 262 (6.9%)
75-84 78 (2.1%)
85+ 22 (0.6%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 536 (53.9%)
Lone Person 243 (24.4%)
One Parent Families 179 (18.0%)
Group Household 26 (2.6%)
Other Families 10 (1.0%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 1,526 (81.0%)
Worked from Home 183 (9.7%)
Car (passenger) 121 (6.4%)
Bus 37 (2.0%)
Bicycle 9 (0.5%)
Walked Only 7 (0.4%)

14% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (309 of 2,191).

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 197 people work here; 2,191 employed residents live here.

Mostly a place people commute from: 0.1 jobs per working resident. At least 91% 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

Certificate III & IV 561 (14.8%)
Bachelor Degree 468 (12.3%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 376 (9.9%)
Postgraduate Degree 166 (4.4%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 77 (2.0%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 37 (2.8%)
1 car 360 (27.5%)
2 cars 558 (42.7%)
3 cars 220 (16.8%)
4+ cars 135 (10.3%)

Council Rates

Unincorporated ACT
FY 2026-27

Households face an average residential rates bill of $3,105 a year through Unincorporated ACT based on 2026 figures.

Avg residential rate
$3,105/yr
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

Building Approvals: Unincorporated ACT

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

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.

Trailing 12 months
3,750dwellings
-47.7% YoY
Houses
813
detached dwellings
Units
2,937
townhouses + apartments

Air Quality

MODERATE

PM2.5 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, 4.2 km away. ACT Health publishes these readings unverified, so they may still be revised.

Climate & Setting

from Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS, 4.2 km

Moderate rainfall — warm summers, frosty winters.

Elevation
654 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.

EV adoption

1.4%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.06% in 2021
+0.5 points this year
Bottom 4% in ACT

In postcode 2905, 296 of 21,259 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.6% (772 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.0%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.06%
2022
0.15%
2023
0.34%
2024
0.85%
2025
1.39%

Rooftop solar

47
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.0 kW each

In postcode 2905, 5,022 rooftop-solar systems totalling 35.1 MW have been installed since 2001, against 10,736 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 280 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
319
2020
422
2021
467
2022
739
2023
597
2024
275
2025
243
2026
160

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

No 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.

Verify eligibility with ACT Revenue Office

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$4,687
Loan amount
$719,000
Total interest over 30 years
$968,443

1 mortgage broker is registered in this suburb, 2 across postcode 2905.

Deposit
$179,750
Stamp duty
$27,984
Cash needed at settlement
$207,734

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

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

Division of Bean

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

Brindabella electorate · 5 members

Elected at the 2024 election:

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 Theodore?

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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 Theodore 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 Theodore

Is Theodore a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Theodore is moderate (44/100, ranked against other ACT suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Theodore?

Theodore has a high recorded bushfire history (84/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (18/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

Is Theodore a good place to live?

Theodore has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (20/100), 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 Theodore?

Theodore, ACT had a population of 3,798 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Theodore, ACT?

The postcode for Theodore, ACT is 2905.

How far is Theodore from Canberra?

Theodore is 26 km from Canberra CBD by road, about 30 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Theodore?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Theodore was $134,576 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 Theodore?

The median advertised rent in Theodore is $580 a week for houses (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Theodore?

The median age of residents in Theodore was 36 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Theodore at risk of bushfire?

Theodore has a high recorded bushfire history (84/100). 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.

How are the schools in Theodore?

There is 1 school inside the Theodore boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Theodore walkable?

Theodore 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 air quality in Theodore?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Theodore (Monash) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 7.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 11.9 µg/m³. That puts Theodore 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 Theodore?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Theodore, Tuggeranong (Isabella Plains) AWS (4.2 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 Theodore?

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 Theodore belong to?

Theodore 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 Theodore?

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 Theodore?

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 Theodore in?

Theodore sits within the federal Division of Bean, currently held by David Smith (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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