Yirrkala NT 0880
Yirrkala sits 1,038 km from Darwin CBD in Northern Territory, around 16 hours 20 minutes by car. Census data records 657 residents with a median age of 32 and a median household income of $87,308 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The locality fell 18.8% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $83 per week. Yirrkala is characterised by high coastal erosion risk. Of 2 schools within the locality boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Yirrkala a good place to live?
Yirrkala scores a D (23/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit and community.
Mixed results
2 schools · 1 above peer schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 27/100 · 1037.6 km · 980 min drive to Darwin
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 32 · 657 residents
Liveability Rating
23 / 100 · Ranked #81 in NTEach bar is Yirrkala'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 Yirrkala?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
23 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Crime in the East Arnhem area
Crime recorded across the whole area over the 12 months to Aug 2026, not in Yirrkala 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 | 932 | 114.6 |
| Assault | 346 | 42.6 |
| Domestic violence assault | 261 | 32.1 |
| Sexual offences | 23 | 2.8 |
| House burglary | 64 | 7.9 |
| Commercial burglary | 124 | 15.3 |
| Theft | 92 | 11.3 |
| Property damage | 233 | 28.7 |
| Robbery and extortion | 6 | 0.7 |
| Endangering people | 41 | 5.0 |
Rates use the East Arnhem area’s 8,130 residents. The latest month is preliminary and may be revised.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 224 m
- Rate
- -0.12 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -5.4 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Two schools serve Yirrkala, and results are mixed — some outperforming peer-suburb schools, some below. Laynhapuy Homelands School leads the pack.
- • 252 students across 2 schools (avg 126)
- • ICSEA 624-639, median 632 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Yirrkala School (132 students)
Combined
Walkability
Yirrkala is car-dependent on foot — at 27/100, most errands require a car.
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 Yirrkala.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 99%
- Premises covered
- 156
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
Yirrkala is home to 657 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 32 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $87,000 a year, with unemployment at 11.4%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
657
Median Age
32
Median Household Income
$87,308/yr
Census Median Rent
$83/wk
Census Median Mortgage
—
Avg Household Size
4.0
Median Personal Income
$17,576/yr
Unemployment Rate
11.4%
Unoccupied Dwellings
20.4%
Total Dwellings
142
Owner-Occupier Rate
2.5%
Houses
94.4%
Rental Stress
4.9%
Mortgage Stress
—
Work From Home
5.4%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
62 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 24 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 118 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 92.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 12.2%
- Employment Rate
- 35.6%
- Completed Year 12
- 32.4%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $3,294 a year through East Arnhem based on 2026 figures.
Building Approvals: East Arnhem
In the year to May 2026, 13 new dwellings were approved across East Arnhem. That mix is 5 houses and 8 units. Approvals are down 100.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Nhulunbuy, 14.4 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 6 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 208 m
- Annual rainfall
- 1,464 mm
- 74 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the locality 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
In postcode 0880, 3 of 2,563 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.4% (36 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 0880, 48 rooftop-solar systems totalling 0.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,418 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 4 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.
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 locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Yiwarr McGrath Labor — elected at the Sep 2026 by-election, after the results below
Next state election: 26 August 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Yingiya Mark Guyula IND | 75.2% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Northern Territory Electoral Commission.
Looking at a specific address in Yirrkala?
Every figure above is a locality 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 657 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.
Compare Yirrkala to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NT suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Yirrkala
Is Yirrkala a safe place to live?
NT does not publish suburb-level crime statistics, so there is no crime figure for Yirrkala.
Is Yirrkala a good place to live?
Yirrkala has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (23/100), 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 Yirrkala?
Yirrkala, NT had a population of 657 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Yirrkala, NT?
The postcode for Yirrkala, NT is 0880.
How far is Yirrkala from Darwin?
Yirrkala is 1,038 km from Darwin CBD by road, about 980 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Yirrkala?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Yirrkala was $87,308 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 Yirrkala?
There are too few current rental listings in Yirrkala for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $83, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Yirrkala?
The median age of residents in Yirrkala was 32 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Yirrkala?
There are 2 schools inside the Yirrkala boundary: 1 above and 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Yirrkala walkable?
Yirrkala scores 27/100 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 Yirrkala?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Yirrkala, Nhulunbuy (14.4 km away), 1,464 mm of rain a year over 74 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Yirrkala?
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 Yirrkala belong to?
Yirrkala sits within the East Arnhem local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Yirrkala?
The average residential rates bill through East Arnhem is $3,294 a year (2026). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Yirrkala?
Across East Arnhem, 13 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to May 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 100.0% 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 Yirrkala in?
Yirrkala sits within the federal Division of Lingiari, currently held by Marion Scrymgour (Australian Labor Party).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Council rates · FY 2026–27
- Building approvals · May 2026
- Schools · 2025
- 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.