Howard Springs
Northern Territory · Litchfield, Darwin
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
Children under 15 are 11.7% of residents, against 21.5% in the middle Northern Territory area (Census 2021). The median age is 36, higher than the middle Northern Territory area (33, Census 2021).
Howard Springs has 2 schools (1 government, 1 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 5 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). Population is 6,308 (ABS ERP June 2025).
Howard Springs at a glance
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Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full NT map →
How the Family-Fit score is built51/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullMixed for families - strongest on housing affordability, weakest on everyday amenities.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 40/100
- Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
- 50/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 36/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 74/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 47/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 67/100
NT median 50/100
2 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 951
NT median 30/100
5 NQS-rated services nearby
NT median 50/100
0 parks · no GP mapped (not counted) · 1 supermarket · 3 playgrounds
NT median 74/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 9.8% of mortgage-holding households, 20.0% of renting households
NT median 80/100
11.7% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 44.7% of families are couples with children
NT median 44/100
SEIFA IRSAD decile 7 of 10 nationally
The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 58 Northern Territory areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 53/100). It is context, not a pass mark.
Not scored here (no published data for this area, so it is left out rather than counted as zero): Getting around. The remaining inputs were rescaled to 100.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the Howard Springs SA2 is mapped onto 0–100 by fixed thresholds, then weighted. Inputs with no data here are dropped and the rest rescaled - never scored as zero. Every threshold and weight →
School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →
What families notice
What families notice
- We don't have official school-zoning data for NT yet (only VIC, NSW and QLD) - confirm zoning directly with the school or department.
- We don't yet have official crime data for NT (only NSW and VIC) - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim this area is safe.
- We don't yet have property or rent figures for this area - check a real-estate portal directly for current prices.
Living in Howard Springs: family snapshot
Living in Howard Springs
A smaller suburb. Growing quickly - population is up 3.2% in the past year. Many childcare options nearby - 5 NQS-rated services. Mostly detached family homes.
Howard Springs compared with Northern Territory10 measures
| Measure | Howard Springs | NT average | Against NT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 3.9% | 7.0% | Lower |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 7.8% | 14.0% | Lower |
| Couple families with children | 44.7% | 44.6% | About the same |
| One-parent families | 10.4% | 18.7% | Lower |
| Homes owned outright | 34.5% | 15.5% | Higher |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 44.2% | 29.0% | Higher |
| Homes rented | 18.9% | 49.9% | Lower |
| Separate houses | 90.0% | 71.0% | Higher |
| Flats and apartments | 0.3% | 14.9% | Lower |
| Born overseas | 11.5% | 21.8% | Lower |
Source: ABS Census 2021. The NT figure is the population-weighted average of the 68 NT areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.
About this area and its boundary
Howard Springs is a locality in the Litchfield area of Northern Territory. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Howard Springs SA2.
6,308 residents - 11.7% are children under 15, median age 36.
This profile uses the ABS Howard Springs statistical area (SA2) - the level Australian government data is published at. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries. It covers the gazetted suburbs of Howard Springs and Holtze, drawn separately on the map above.
Property market
No free house sale price or 3-bedroom house rent is published for this area. 18.9% of homes are rented, against 49.9% across Northern Territory.
Homes and households
Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".
Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
Housing cost pressure
In Howard Springs, 20% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 9.8% of households with a mortgage spend more than 30% on repayments - the ABS's stretched-household threshold (Census 2021).
ABS published figures, not our calculation.
- Mortgage over 30% of income
- 9.8%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 20%
NT avg 11.2%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 47 of 384 households with a stated repayment.
NT avg 16.7%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 41 of 159 households with a stated rent.
The two figures cover different households (mortgage-holding vs renting), so never add them. How the ABS counts these → Grey marker: NT average (47 for mortgage and 62 for rent). Census 2021 - housing costs have moved since. Not financial advice.
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
What's being built here
15 new homes were approved in Howard Springs in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 65 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.
Approved in the year to June 2025
Middle NT area: 9
Separate houses
Private sector, over these 6 years
Townhouses & apartments
Private sector, over these 6 years
Counts are for the whole Howard Springs statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 21Northern Territory areas.
Schools and childcare
2 schools are located in the area. 5 childcare services are on the national register, 3 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.
Government schools in Howard Springs
Free government schools your child may attend. Exact school zones aren’t mapped for NT yet, so we can’t confirm which one is yours.
A picture of students’ family backgrounds (ICSEA) - not a ranking or a quality score.
Fee-paying schools can’t be enrolled in by zone - they’re shown for context, not as the area’s school quality.
We show school intake context and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.
To look beyond Howard Springs, every Northern Territory school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Schools in Howard Springs
- Students
- 1,117
- ICSEA
- 1025
- Students
- 277
- ICSEA
- 951
ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All NT schools →
Childcare: 5 services
National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.
Childcare services, ratings and fees5 services
- Meeting NQSGood Shepherd Lutheran College Howard Springs Campus Early Learning CentreCentre-Based Care · 75 places · Howard SpringsRated Dec 2021 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSCamp Australia - Good Shepherd Lutheran College Howard Springs Campus OSHCCentre-Based Care · 66 places · Howard SpringsRated Nov 2020 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSHoward Springs PreschoolCentre-Based Care · 29 places · Howard SpringsRated May 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Working Towards NQSCreative Kids Childcare Howard SpringsCentre-Based Care · 90 places · Howard SpringsRated Jun 2026
- Not yet ratedHoward Springs Primary School OSHC-YMCA NTCentre-Based Care · 105 places · Howard Springs
- Centre-based day care
- $10.64/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $9.15/hr
Mean hourly fee across CCS-approved services, December quarter 2025 - Dept of Education, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Published at SA3 level (a wider area than this suburb's SA2), so it's an average across Litchfield and surrounds, not this specific service list.
Verify locations before visiting. A rating over 3 years old is flagged. What the NQS ratings mean → Childcare places per child, by suburb →
Who lives here
Fewer rented homes than Northern Territory overall: 18.9% of homes, against 49.9% statewide.
Ages of people here
Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.
How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
Each line is drawn on its own scale, so compare the numbers, not the heights. Source: ABS Census 2011, 2016 and 2021.
Census trends against the middle NT areafull charts
Which way this area is moving
The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Howard Springs, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, Howard Springs has grown older, with a smaller share of children and more residents speaking another language at home.
- People counted
- +802 people since 2011
- Median age
- +4 years since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- −4.0 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- +0.4 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- +2.1 pts since 2011
Usual residents counted on Census night.
Half the residents are older than this, half younger.
Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.
Share of all residents born outside Australia.
Share of residents who stated a language, speaking one other than English at home.
The dashed line is the median across the Northern Territory areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →
Where this year's population change came from+3.20% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+198Reading the streams: Australian movers from other suburbs drove most of the change.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
7.8% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the Northern Territory average of 14%, and 3.9% are under 5. The median age is 36.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 3.9%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 7.8%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 5.8%
- 20–34 years
- 30.2%
- 35–54 years
- 29.9%
- 55–64 years
- 11.6%
- 65 years and over
- 10.6%
NT avg 7%
NT avg 14%
NT avg 6.1%
NT avg 25.2%
NT avg 28.3%
NT avg 10.4%
NT avg 8.9%
Share of all residents of Howard Springs (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Northern Territory average. How the bands and averages work →
Households and families
Households and families
55% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the Northern Territory average of 63%. The largest overseas-born communities are United Kingdom (3.1%), New Zealand (1.5%) and Philippines (0.6%). 19% of homes are rented.
Family make-up
Share of all families in the area. A small "other family" group the ABS also counts is not shown.
- Couple with children
- 44.7%
- One-parent family
- 10.4%
- Couple, no children
- 43%
NT avg 44.6%
NT avg 18.7%
NT avg 34.7%
What people live in
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.
- Separate house
- 90%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 1.3%
- Flat or apartment
- 0.3%
NT avg 71%
NT avg 12.1%
NT avg 14.9%
Owned or rented
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.
- Owned outright
- 34.5%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 44.2%
- Rented
- 18.9%
NT avg 15.5%
NT avg 29%
NT avg 49.9%
Figures describe Howard Springs (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Northern Territory average. How these are counted →
Birthplaces, languages and communities
Who lives in Howard Springs
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 93.9% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 3.1%
- New Zealand · established by 2016
- 1.5%
- Philippines · established by 2016
- 0.6%
- India · growing since 2016
- 0.5%
- Ireland · established by 2016
- 0.4%
NT avg 2.6%
NT avg 1.5%
NT avg 2.7%
NT avg 2.1%
NT avg 0%
- Nearby
- Palmerston - South, Virginia and Rosebery - Bellamack also have an established United Kingdom community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 8.4% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (NT avg 26%) and 62% arrived before 2001 (NT avg 33.7%).
- English at home
- Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 8.7% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (NT avg 11.1%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.
Figures describe Howard Springs (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census. The ABS publishes only the five largest communities per area, so a missing name did not rank in the top five. How these are counted →
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 7 of 10
- Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
- Decile 7 of 10
- Where this sits in NT
- top 40% of Northern Territory areas
A relative comparison of the whole area against all of Australia - not a safety, liveability, or school-quality measure. What IRSAD measures → Source: ABS SEIFA 2021, IRSAD index (SA2).
Getting around and lifestyle
1 supermarket is mapped in the area, and the nearest emergency department is Royal Darwin Hospital, 21.3 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the Howard Springs boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Train to the city and nearest emergency department
Train to the city
Not publishedThe Northern Territory has no urban passenger rail network, so there is no train travel time to publish.
Nearest emergency department
MappedRoyal Darwin Hospital · 21.3 km
Straight-line distance from the middle of this area - not a drive time. In an emergency call 000; do not plan around this figure.
Community and recreation
About this data
Counts of features tagged in OpenStreetMap inside the Howard Springs boundary. “Middle NT area”: the median of 67 Northern Territory areas. How these counts and times are made →
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Crime & safety in Howard Springs
Official recorded-incident data is only published on this site for NSW and VIC so far - that's a coverage gap on our side, not a claim that Howard Springs is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →
Risks
1 of the 1 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: traffic noise. 6 more are not published for NT - treat them as not checked.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentStuart Highway
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Howard Springs area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.
All 9 checks and what each one means
Flooding
Not publishedNo free statewide flood overlay is published for NT yet, so we show none. Check the local council's planning maps.
Bushfire
Not publishedWe hold official bushfire mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for NT yet. Check the state fire service's mapping.
Heritage controls
Not publishedWe hold official heritage overlay mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for NT yet. Check the local council's planning scheme and the state heritage register.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentStuart Highway
1 named road through this area carries OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 5 named main roads. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment. Where a home sits relative to them matters far more than the count - a street two blocks back can be quiet.
Aircraft noise
Not publishedWe hold official aircraft-noise mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for NT yet. Check the airport's noise contours and the local planning scheme.
Land contamination checks
Not mappedWe hold official contaminated-land overlay mapping for Victoria only - nothing is published here for NT yet. Check the state environment authority's contaminated land register and the local planning scheme.
Acid sulfate soils
Not publishedWe hold acid sulfate soil mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for NT yet. Coastal and estuarine land is where these soils occur; check the state's soil mapping and the local planning scheme.
Recorded crime
Not publishedNT does not release the suburb-level incident counts we republish for New South Wales and Victoria, so we show none here.
Social housing
Census figure0.0% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 1.3% from a community housing provider
Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle NT area is 7.5% public and 0.8% community, across 62 areas. Listed because families ask; it is a fact about who owns the homes, not a judgement about the people in them.
About this data
Every line is an official published record for the Howard Springs area - we don't rate, score or rank any of them. Where a line is missing, treat it as not checked rather than clear. What each line covers and does not →
Source: ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification
Nearby suburbs
- Palmerston (South area) 3.3 km
- Bakewell 4.5 km
- Virginia 5.4 km
- Rosebery (Bellamack area) 5.5 km
- Woodroffe 5.9 km
- Gray 6.0 km
The six closest profiled areas in Northern Territory, by distance between area centres.
The suburbs in this area
Everything else on this page is published for Howard Springs as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 2 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of those suburbs on its own.
| Suburb | Residents Census 2021 | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Howard Springs | 3,153 | 2 |
| Holtze | 1,940 | 0 |
Each row is that suburb's own published figure - nothing here is the wider area's number divided up. Resident counts are the Census 2021 usual-resident count for the gazetted suburb, so they will not add up to the population at the top of this page, which is the ABS's later June 2025 estimate for the whole statistical area: a different measure on a different date. Schools are ACARA-registered schools whose published address falls inside the suburb boundary, which is not the same as the school your address is zoned to. No free source publishes suburb-level house medians in Northern Territory, so no price column is shown - that is our coverage gap, not a statement about the market here. Every other figure on this page - crime & safety, overlays, commute, amenities, projections, the Family-Fit score - is published for the whole statistical area and cannot be separated by suburb.
Other areas in Litchfieldsorted by growth in one year
- 01Virginia+2.5%3,759 ppl
- 02Humpty Doo+1.7%9,513 ppl
- 03Weddell+0.9%4,738 ppl
- 04Koolpinyah+0.0%14 ppl
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