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Barkly
Northern Territory · Northern Territory - Outback · 5,960 people · 19 suburbs · 6 postcodes
Barkly at a glance
Map shows the Barkly LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.
Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: ● 1-2 (most disadvantaged), ● 3-4, ● 5-6, ● 7-8, ● 9-10 (most advantaged).
Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Barkly is a Local Government Area in Northern Territory, in the Darwin region. It covers 19 suburbs across 6 postcodes and an area of 322,110 km². Barkly has a population of 5,960 , ranking #9 most populous in NT. The most populous suburb is Tennant Creek (3,080 residents), and the highest median household income is in Pamayu at $2,750/week. The LGA-wide median household income is $1,585/week and median age is 29.8. About 9.4% of residents were born overseas and 47.8% speak a language other than English at home.
Who lives here
Age structure
Show counts
| 0–14 years | 1,452 (24.4%) |
| 15–24 years | 905 (15.2%) |
| 25–44 years | 1,862 (31.3%) |
| 45–64 years | 1,297 (21.8%) |
| 65+ years | 427 (7.2%) |
How they live
Housing tenure
Dwelling type mix
Work and learning
Schools in Barkly
10 schools across Barkly: 100.0% Government, 0% Catholic, 0% Independent. The NT average is 78.8% / 9.2% / 12.0%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 626 (range 552 to 754). NT median is 778; national mean is 1000.
Sector mix
Type breakdown
ICSEA range
ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.
All 10 schools in Barkly, sorted by enrolment:
| School | Sector | Type | Suburb | Students | ICSEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennant Creek Primary School | Government | Primary | Tennant Creek | 309 | 732 |
| Tennant Creek High School | Government | Secondary | Tennant Creek | 142 | 754 |
| Ampilatwatja School | Government | Combined | Ampilatwatja | 92 | 616 |
| Alekarenge School | Government | Combined | Ali Curung | 79 | 637 |
| Elliott School | Government | Combined | Elliott | 70 | 611 |
| Canteen Creek School | Government | Combined | Canteen Creek | 49 | 564 |
| Epenarra School | Government | Combined | Wutunugurra | 29 | 552 |
| Murray Downs School | Government | Combined | Ali Curung | 24 | 636 |
| Newcastle Waters School | Government | Combined | Newcastle Waters | 8 | 694 |
| Rockhampton Downs School | Government | Combined | Tablelands | 3 | 610 |
Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.
SEIFA socio-economic indexes
SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Barkly. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.
IRSAD
Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage
IRSD
Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)
IER
Economic resources: income, wealth, housing
IEO
Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels
Suburbs in Barkly
Barkly contains 19 suburbs and 6 postcodes. Sorted by population.
| Suburb | Postcode | Population | Median income | Median age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennant Creek | 0860 | 3,080 | $1,677/wk | 33 |
| Sandover | 0872 | 569 | $1,348/wk | 28 |
| Ampilatwatja | 0872 | 439 | $2,111/wk | 24 |
| Ali Curung | 0872 | 394 | $1,437/wk | 23 |
| Elliott | 0862 | 287 | $1,093/wk | 28 |
| Tablelands | 0862 | 188 | $1,583/wk | 31 |
| Canteen Creek | 0872 | 147 | $1,687/wk | 25 |
| Warumungu | 0852 | 146 | $982/wk | 28 |
| Davenport | 0872 | 145 | $1,017/wk | 32 |
| Wutunugurra | 0872 | 143 | $1,187/wk | 29 |
| Newcastle Waters | 0862 | 122 | $1,562/wk | 25 |
| Tara | 0872 | 62 | $900/wk | 21 |
| Nicholson | 0862 | 57 | $1,687/wk | 23 |
| Creswell | 0852 | 54 | $1,375/wk | 25 |
| Ranken | 4825 | 51 | $2,124/wk | 27 |
| Pamayu | 0862 | 40 | $2,750/wk | 23 |
| Costello | 0872 | 23 | $2,749/wk | 20 |
| Tanami East | 0852 | 13 | $450/wk | 36 |
| Brunchilly | 0861 |
Postcodes covered
0852, 0860, 0861, 0862, 0872, 4825
Compare Barkly with neighbouring LGAs
Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Barkly and its closest neighbouring LGAs.
| LGA | Population | Median age | Median HH income | SEIFA IRSAD | % renting | % overseas-born |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barkly (NT) | 5,960 | 29.8 | $1,585/wk | 800 | 76.5% | 9.4% |
| Roper Gulf | 6,477 | 29.0 | $1,362/wk | 711 | 82.0% | 4.0% |
| Central Desert | 3,601 | 27.6 | $1,148/wk | 696 | 95.9% | 3.3% |
| MacDonnell | 5,753 | 29.8 | $1,195/wk | 740 | 91.2% | 3.0% |
| Victoria Daly | 2,986 | 28.6 | $1,349/wk | 741 | 75.1% | 5.0% |
Services and amenities
Frequently asked questions about Barkly
What is the population of Barkly?
The 2021 Census recorded 5,960 people living in Barkly, across 19 suburbs.
What suburbs are in Barkly?
Barkly contains 19 suburbs. The most populous are Tennant Creek, Sandover, Ampilatwatja, Ali Curung, Elliott.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.
What postcodes are in Barkly?
Barkly covers 6 postcodes: 0852, 0860, 0861, 0862, 0872, 4825.
What is the median household income in Barkly?
The population-weighted median household income across Barkly is $1,585 per week (2021 Census), ranking #7 of 17 NT LGAs.
How many schools are in Barkly?
Barkly has 10 schools, including 10 government, 0 Catholic, and 0 independent schools (ACARA 2025).
What is the SEIFA score for Barkly?
Barkly has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 800, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.
Page last reviewed . Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.