East Side

East Side has seen population growth performance typically on par with national averages when looking at short and medium term trends

East Side's population, as of November 2025, is approximately 6,290. This figure represents a growth of 872 people since the 2021 Census, which recorded a population of 5,418. The increase was inferred from ABS estimates: East Side had an estimated resident population of 6,285 in June 2024 and six new addresses validated after the Census date. This results in a population density of 244 persons per square kilometer. East Side's growth rate since the 2021 census was 16.1%, surpassing both national (8.9%) and state averages, making it a regional growth leader. Overseas migration contributed approximately 61.5% of recent population gains.

AreaSearch uses ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data and post-2032 growth estimates, AreaSearch applies age cohort-specific growth rates provided by the ABS in its latest Greater Capital Region projections (released in 2023, based on 2022 data). By 2041, East Side is projected to have an additional 1,041 persons, reflecting a total increase of 16.5% over the 17-year period.

Residential development activity is lower than average in East Side according to AreaSearch's national comparison of local real estate markets

East Side has seen approximately 12 dwellings granted development approval annually. Over the past five financial years, from FY-21 to FY-25, around 60 homes have been approved, with none yet approved in FY-26. Each dwelling built over these five years attracted an average of 9.2 people per year, indicating significant demand outstripping supply, which typically leads to price increases and heightened buyer competition.

The average construction cost for new homes is $283,000, below regional norms, offering more affordable housing options. In FY-26, commercial development approvals totaled $5.7 million, reflecting the area's residential character. Compared to the Rest of NT, East Side exhibits moderately higher building activity, at 21.0% above the regional average per person over the five-year period. This maintains reasonable buyer options while sustaining existing property demand.

However, development activity has decreased in recent periods. Recent construction comprises 71.0% detached houses and 29.0% attached dwellings, preserving East Side's traditional low-density character focused on family homes. The estimated population per dwelling approval is 2592 people, indicating a quiet, low-activity development environment. Looking ahead, AreaSearch quarterly estimates project East Side to grow by 1,036 residents by 2041. If current construction levels persist, housing supply may lag behind population growth, potentially intensifying buyer competition and supporting price growth.

East Side has limited levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the 10thth percentile nationally

Twelve infrastructure projects have been identified by AreaSearch as potentially impacting the area. Key among these are the redevelopment of Alice Springs Hospital's Emergency Department, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia, the Melanka Accommodation Development project, and the Alice Springs Flood Mitigation Project. The following list details those projects likely to be most relevant.

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

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East Side ranks among the top 25% of areas assessed nationally for overall employment performance

East Side has a highly educated workforce with prominent representation in essential services sectors. As of September 2025, the unemployment rate is 1.8%.

Comparing to Rest of NT's rate of 5.9%, East Side's rate is 4.1% lower. Workforce participation stands at 69.9%, significantly higher than Rest of NT's 50.7%. Key employment industries include health care & social assistance, public administration & safety, and education & training. Notably, health care & social assistance accounts for 1.3 times the regional level in East Side.

Conversely, agriculture, forestry & fishing is under-represented with only 0.4% of East Side's workforce compared to Rest of NT's 5.0%. Local employment opportunities appear limited as Census working population vs resident population indicates. Between September 2024 and September 2025, labour force levels decreased by 1.1%, accompanied by a 1.1% employment decline with unemployment remaining stable. In contrast, Rest of NT saw a 1.3% employment decline and a 1.2% labour force decline, with marginal unemployment rise. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May-25 project national employment growth at 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to East Side's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 7.2% over five years and 14.8% over ten years, though these are simple extrapolations for illustrative purposes and do not account for localized population projections.

Income metrics indicate excellent economic conditions, with the area achieving higher performance than 75% of national locations assessed by AreaSearch

AreaSearch's aggregation of ATO data for financial year 2022 shows East Side SA2 had a median taxpayer income of $63,634 and an average income of $71,232. These figures are higher than the national averages of $51,655 and $61,577 respectively for Rest of NT. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 12.01% since financial year 2022, estimated median income as of September 2025 is approximately $71,276, with average income at around $79,787. Census data indicates individual weekly earnings reached the 86th percentile nationally ($1,118). Income brackets show that 34.0% of residents earn between $1,500 and $2,999 weekly (2,138 residents), similar to broader regional trends at 33.6%. Housing costs consume 15.5% of income, but strong earnings place disposable income at the 68th percentile nationally. East Side SA2's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 6th decile.

East Side displays a diverse mix of dwelling types, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

East Side's housing structure, as per the latest Census evaluation, consisted of 61.8% houses and 38.2% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings). This compared to Non-Metro NT's 67.8% houses and 32.2% other dwellings. Home ownership in East Side stood at 16.0%, with mortgaged dwellings at 37.5% and rented ones at 46.5%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733, lower than Non-Metro NT's average of $1,800. The median weekly rent figure was $360, compared to Non-Metro NT's $280. Nationally, East Side's mortgage repayments were below the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were less than the national figure of $375.

East Side features high concentrations of group households, with a lower-than-average median household size

Family households account for 63.6% of all households, including 27.5% couples with children, 21.4% couples without children, and 13.0% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 36.4%, with lone person households at 29.1% and group households comprising 7.4%. The median household size is 2.6 people, which is smaller than the Rest of NT average of 2.8.

Educational outcomes in East Side fall within the lower quartile nationally, indicating opportunities for improvement in qualification attainment

Educational attainment in East Side is notably higher than broader benchmarks. As of the latest data, 37.2% of residents aged 15 and above hold university qualifications, compared to 20.1% in the SA4 region and 20.1% in the Rest of NT. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 21.9%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (10.9%) and graduate diplomas (4.4%). Vocational credentials are also prevalent, with 29.0% of residents aged 15 and above holding such qualifications – advanced diplomas account for 9.2% while certificates make up 19.8%.

Educational participation is high, with 30.0% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 11.0% in primary education, 7.3% in secondary education, and 5.7% pursuing tertiary education.

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

East Side has 15 active public transport stops operating. These are mixed bus services. There is 1 route serving these stops, offering a total of 49 weekly passenger trips.

Transport accessibility in the area is rated good, with residents typically located 244 meters from their nearest stop. Service frequency averages 7 trips per day across all routes, equating to approximately 3 weekly trips per individual stop.

East Side's residents boast exceedingly positive health performance metrics with younger cohorts in particular seeing very low prevalence of common health conditions

Health outcomes data shows excellent results on East Side, with younger cohorts experiencing particularly low prevalence of common health conditions.

Approximately 55% (~3,459 people) have private health cover, a rate higher than that of the total population. The most prevalent medical conditions are asthma (7.1%) and mental health issues (6.3%), while 75.1% report no medical ailments, compared to 76.9% in Rest of NT. East Side has 11.1% (698 people) aged 65 and over, higher than the 9.3% in Rest of NT.

The level of cultural diversity witnessed in East Side was found to be above average when compared nationally for a number of language and cultural background related metrics

East Side's population showed higher cultural diversity compared to most local markets, with 25.5% born overseas and 25.6% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity was the dominant religion in East Side, comprising 39.9% of its population. Notably, Judaism was overrepresented at 0.4%, compared to 0.1% across Rest of NT.

In terms of ancestry, the top three groups were English (21.1%), Australian (19.0%), and Australian Aboriginal (16.2%), the latter being lower than the regional average of 28.9%. There were significant differences in the representation of certain ethnic groups: Maori at 1.5% (vs regional 1.1%), Samoan at 0.4%, and French at 0.6% (vs regional 0.4%).

East Side's young demographic places it in the bottom 15% of areas nationwide

East Side's median age is 33 years, which is slightly higher than the Rest of NT average of 31 but significantly lower than Australia's median age of 38. Compared to the Rest of NT, East Side has a larger proportion of residents aged 65-74 (7.9%) but fewer residents aged 15-24 (10.9%). According to the 2021 Census, the percentage of residents aged 65 to 74 increased from 6.8% to 7.9%. Conversely, the proportion of residents aged 5 to 14 decreased from 13.1% to 12.0%, and the proportion of residents aged 25 to 34 dropped from 21.3% to 20.2%. By 2041, population forecasts indicate significant demographic changes for East Side. Notably, the number of residents aged 45 to 54 is projected to grow by 26%, adding 185 people and reaching a total of 893 from 707. The 0 to 4 age group is expected to grow at a more modest rate of 6%, with an increase of 30 residents.