Gowrie (ACT)

Gowrie has shown very soft population growth performance across periods assessed by AreaSearch

Gowrie's population, as of November 2025, is approximately 3,098. This figure represents a decrease of 42 people since the 2021 Census, which recorded a population of 3,140. The change is inferred from ABS estimates: 3,096 in June 2024 and an additional 7 validated new addresses since the Census date. This results in a density ratio of 1,605 persons per square kilometer, higher than the average across national locations assessed by AreaSearch. While Gowrie experienced a 1.3% decline since census, the SA3 area grew by 0.2%, indicating divergent trends. Natural growth contributed approximately 73.9% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch adopts ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered and years post-2032, ACT Government's SA2 area projections are used, also based on 2022 data. Future trends indicate an overall population decline by 284 persons to 2041. However, specific age cohorts are projected to grow, notably the 75 to 84 age group, expected to increase by 55 people.

The level of residential development activity in Gowrie is very low in comparison to the average area assessed nationally by AreaSearch

Gowrie has averaged approximately two new dwelling approvals annually over the past five financial years, totalling ten homes. As of FY-26, zero approvals have been recorded. Over these five years, from FY-21 to FY-25, an average of 1.1 new residents per year per dwelling constructed has been observed, indicating balanced supply and demand with stable market conditions. However, this figure has recently accelerated to nine people per dwelling over the past two financial years, suggesting increasing demand and tightening supply. New homes are being built at an average expected construction cost value of $464,000, targeting the premium market segment with higher-end properties.

In FY-26, commercial approvals valued at $595,000 have been registered, indicating minimal commercial development activity. Compared to the Australian Capital Territory, Gowrie has significantly less development activity, 72.0% below the regional average per person. This limited new supply generally supports stronger demand and values for established dwellings. The area's development activity is also under the national average, suggesting its established nature and potential planning limitations.

All new construction in Gowrie over this period has been comprised of detached houses, preserving the area's suburban nature and attracting space-seeking buyers. Given stable or declining population forecasts, Gowrie may experience less housing pressure, creating favourable conditions for buyers.

Gowrie has emerging levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the 27thth percentile nationally

Changes in local infrastructure significantly impact an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified three projects likely affecting the region: Wanniassa Hills Primary School Modernisation, Erindale Group Centre Master Plan Implementation - Stage 1, The Valley Ponds - Wanniassa, and Canberra Light Rail Stage 4 - Woden to Tuggeranong. Details of these key projects follow.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

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Employment drivers in Gowrie are experiencing difficulties, placing it among the bottom 20% of areas assessed across Australia

Gowrie's workforce is well-educated with significant representation in essential services sectors. The unemployment rate was 6.9% as of September 2025.

This rate is 3.3% higher than the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) rate of 3.6%, indicating room for improvement. Workforce participation in Gowrie was somewhat below standard at 66.5%, compared to ACT's 69.6%. Key industries of employment among residents are public administration & safety, health care & social assistance, and education & training. Employment is particularly specialized in construction, with a share 1.4 times the regional level.

However, professional & technical services are under-represented at 8.5% compared to ACT's 11.1%. The predominantly residential area appears to offer limited local employment opportunities. Over the 12 months prior to September 2025, labour force increased by 0.6% while employment declined by 0.3%, causing unemployment to rise by 0.9 percentage points. In contrast, ACT experienced employment growth of 1.4% and labour force growth of 1.2%, with a drop in unemployment of 0.2 percentage points. State-level data to 25-Nov-25 shows ACT employment grew by 1.19% year-on-year, adding 710 jobs, with the state unemployment rate at 4.5%. National employment forecasts from May-25 suggest growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.2% over ten years for Gowrie, based on industry-specific projections applied to its current employment mix.

The economic profile demonstrates exceptional strength, placing the area among the top 10% nationally based on comprehensive AreaSearch income analysis

Gowrie SA2 had a median taxpayer income of $68,311 and an average of $79,768 in financial year 2022. This was among the highest in Australia, compared to Australian Capital Territory's median income of $68,678 and average income of $83,634. By September 2025, estimates suggest a median income of approximately $77,601 and an average of $90,616, based on Wage Price Index growth of 13.6% since financial year 2022. According to the 2021 Census, incomes in Gowrie ranked highly nationally, between the 91st and 93rd percentiles for households, families, and individuals. Income distribution showed that 30.6% of locals (947 people) earned between $1,500 - 2,999 weekly, consistent with surrounding regions at 34.3%. Economic strength was evident with 43.1% of households earning high weekly incomes exceeding $3,000, supporting elevated consumer spending. After housing costs, residents retained 88.2% of their income, indicating strong purchasing power. The area's SEIFA income ranking placed it in the 8th decile.

Gowrie is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

Dwelling structure in Gowrie, as evaluated at the latest Census conducted on 28 August 2016, consisted of 99.3% houses and 0.7% other dwellings including semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings. This compares to the Australian Capital Territory's structure of 79.6% houses and 20.4% other dwellings. Home ownership in Gowrie stood at 35.2%, with mortgaged dwellings at 49.3% and rented dwellings at 15.5%. The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area was $2,167 as of the Census date, while the median weekly rent figure was recorded at $440. In comparison, the Australian Capital Territory averages were $2,000 for monthly mortgage repayments and $425 for weekly rents. Nationally, Gowrie's mortgage repayments were significantly higher than the Australian average of $1,863, while rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

Gowrie features high concentrations of family households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households account for 82.4% of all households, consisting of 38.7% couples with children, 31.0% couples without children, and 12.2% single parent families. Non-family households make up the remaining 17.6%, with lone person households at 15.5% and group households comprising 2.0%. The median household size is 2.8 people, larger than the Australian Capital Territory average of 2.6.

Gowrie shows strong educational performance, ranking in the upper quartile nationally when assessed across multiple qualification and achievement indicators

The area has university qualification rates of 34.8%, significantly lower than the SA4 region average of 46.8%. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 21.9%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (8.6%) and graduate diplomas (4.3%). Vocational credentials are held by 32.4% of residents aged 15+, including advanced diplomas (12.7%) and certificates (19.7%). Educational participation is high, with 28.8% of residents currently enrolled in formal education.

This includes 11.2% in primary education, 6.5% in secondary education, and 4.7% pursuing tertiary education.

Transport servicing is good compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Gowrie has 25 active public transport stops, all of which are bus stops. These stops are served by 8 different routes that together facilitate 806 weekly passenger trips. The accessibility of these services is rated as excellent, with residents typically living just 165 meters from the nearest stop.

On average, there are 115 trips per day across all routes, which amounts to approximately 32 weekly trips per individual stop.

Health outcomes in Gowrie are marginally below the national average with common health conditions slightly more prevalent than average across both younger and older age cohorts

Gowrie's health indicators show below-average outcomes, with common health conditions slightly more prevalent than average across both younger and older age cohorts. As of the latest data (2021), approximately 59% of Gowrie's total population (1,840 people) have private health cover, compared to 57.2% in Australian Capital Territory.

The most common medical conditions are mental health issues, impacting 9.7% of residents, and asthma, affecting 8.4%. Conversely, 66.0% of residents declare themselves completely clear of medical ailments, similar to the 66.1% across Australian Capital Territory. Gowrie has 18.6% of residents aged 65 and over (577 people), higher than the 17.6% in Australian Capital Territory. Despite this, health outcomes among seniors are above average, performing better than the general population in health metrics.

In terms of cultural diversity, Gowrie records figures broadly comparable to the national average, as found in AreaSearch's assessment of a number of language and cultural background related metrics

Gowrie's cultural diversity was found to be above average, with 20.8% of its population born overseas and 15.4% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity was the main religion in Gowrie, making up 50.5% of people there. However, Judaism showed notable overrepresentation, comprising 0.3% of Gowrie's population compared to 0.1% across Australian Capital Territory.

The top three ancestry groups were Australian at 27.1%, English at 26.7%, and Irish at 9.3%. Some other ethnic groups also showed notable divergences: Spanish was overrepresented at 0.8% (vs regional 0.7%), Russian at 0.6% (vs 0.3%), and Croatian at 0.9% (vs 0.8%).

Gowrie's population is slightly younger than the national pattern

Gowrie's median age is 38 years, higher than the Australian Capital Territory average of 35 but equivalent to Australia's median age of 38. Compared to the Australian Capital Territory, Gowrie has a higher proportion of residents aged 65-74 (11.5%) but fewer residents aged 25-34 (11.7%). Between the 2021 Census and now, the population aged 75-84 has grown from 4.3% to 6.0%, while the 35-44 age group has increased from 14.5% to 16.0%. Conversely, the 25-34 age group has declined from 13.5% to 11.7%, and the 55-64 age group has dropped from 12.2% to 11.0%. By 2041, demographic modeling suggests Gowrie's age profile will change significantly. The 75-84 cohort is projected to grow by 20%, adding 37 residents to reach 223. Residents aged 65 and above will drive 89% of population growth, indicating a trend towards an aging demographic. Meanwhile, the 55-64 and 0-4 age cohorts are expected to experience population declines.