Canberra - Queanbeyan property market: the official numbers
What the census actually says about Canberra - Queanbeyan, ACT — who lives there, what they pay, and what they do for work. Canberra - Queanbeyan straddles the ACT and NSW. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
At the last census, Canberra - Queanbeyan's median rent was $450/wk — 20% above the national median. The typical rent ($1,950/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($2,058/mo). Cashflow territory.
The key numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 20% of the median household income. One caveat before you compare: everything here is August 2021. Repayments in particular have jumped since the 2022–24 rate rises. Treat these as a ranking tool, not a price tag.
Renting vs paying a mortgage
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,950 against a typical mortgage repayment of $2,058:
What this gap does and doesn't tell you
The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?
How Canberra - Queanbeyan houses itself
31.0% of Canberra - Queanbeyan households rent — that's the tenant pool an investor here would actually be renting into, and it's about the national norm.
Who calls Canberra - Queanbeyan home
How to read an age profile
A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Canberra - Queanbeyan's median age of 35 sits below the national median of 38.
What keeps Canberra - Queanbeyan employed
public administration & safety employs 29.5% of Canberra - Queanbeyan's 268,700 workers (Census 2021). Local housing demand rises and falls with it.
Buying costs in ACT, exactly
Current sale prices live behind licensed feeds we won't republish. The costs of buying don't — they're public and exact:
- Stamp duty in the ACT — exact duty and first-home-buyer concessions.
- What can I afford? — borrowing power, price range and all-in upfront cash.
- The official ACT price trend — ABS state-level values since 2011, interactive.
Quick answers
What is the median rent in Canberra - Queanbeyan?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Canberra - Queanbeyan was $450 a week — 20% above the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Canberra - Queanbeyan?
490,517 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 35 (national median: 38). Canberra - Queanbeyan is one of the ACT's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Canberra - Queanbeyan do for work?
The biggest employing industry is public administration & safety, followed by health care & social assistance (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
So, who buys here?
Your call
This is a cashflow shape — $1,950 a month in rent against a $2,058 repayment at the census. That suits a buyer who wants the rent to carry the loan, not one chasing a blue-chip postcode. The catch is concentration: public administration & safety carries 29.5% of local jobs, and that cuts both ways — it drives housing demand in the good years and takes it away in the bad ones.
Everything above is August 2021 — before you act, pull current asking rents, vacancy and listing volumes for Canberra - Queanbeyan. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the the ACT stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.
Other ACT markets
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General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Canberra - Queanbeyan, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.