Where are rental yields highest in Australia?

The highest gross yields in Australia sit a long way from the big-city glamour markets — think Darwin, Perth, and mining and regional centres. Here is the high-yield map, and why a chart-topping yield is not automatically a chart-topping investment.

9 min read

The high-yield map

Australia's yield map is almost the mirror image of its price map. The most expensive markets — Sydney and Melbourne — carry the lowest gross yields, because prices there have run so far ahead of rents. The highest yields cluster in:

Darwin — consistently the highest-yielding capital, on relatively low prices and firm rents.
Perth — strong rents and, until recently, subdued prices left yields elevated.
Regional and mining centres — resource-town rents can drive very high yields, with matching volatility.
Units over houses everywhere, for the reasons covered in our houses vs units guide.

Capitals ranked by yield

The eight capitals, ordered by indicative gross unit yield (highest first):

Capital cities ranked by indicative gross unit yield.
Capital city	Units (gross)	Houses (gross)
Darwin	7.0–8.0%	5.8–6.6%
Perth	5.4–6.2%	4.0–4.5%
Adelaide	4.9–5.5%	3.6–4.0%
Canberra	4.8–5.4%	3.4–3.9%
Brisbane	4.8–5.3%	3.6–4.0%
Hobart	4.6–5.2%	3.9–4.3%
Melbourne	4.2–4.8%	2.9–3.3%
Sydney	3.8–4.3%	2.6–3.0%

About these yield figures

Rental yield percentages on this page are indicative market estimates summarising public reporting (as at early 2026) — the ABS does not publish rents, prices or yields. Demographic, tenure and dwelling figures are live from the ABS. Treat the yield ranges as direction, not a quote: the real figure for any specific property depends on its price and rent, which our calculators work out exactly.

Why the leaders lead

A high yield is a symptom, not a cause. It appears where rent is high relative to price — which happens either because rents are genuinely strong (tight supply, resource-driven demand) or because prices are low or have fallen. Those are very different stories with very different risk.

Ask whya yield is high before you celebrate it. “Strong rent” and “weak price” both produce the same number, but only one of them is good news.

The catch behind a big number

The markets with the highest yields also tend to carry the highest risks:

Thin, volatile demand. Single-industry towns can see rents — and values — swing hard when the industry turns.
Weaker long-run growth. A high yield often comes with softer capital growth, so total return may lag a lower-yield capital.
Liquidity. Fewer buyers means it can take longer to sell, and prices move more sharply.
Vacancy exposure. One empty month hurts far more when the local rental pool is small.

None of this makes high-yield markets a bad idea — it makes them a deliberate idea. The point is to buy the yield with your eyes open, which is where the demand data comes in.

The demand check (ABS)

Before chasing a headline yield, check the ground underneath it. Our ABS data shows population growth and renter share by state — the fastest-growing, most renter-friendly states carry the safest high yields.

Population growth, renter share and unemployment by state, from ABS data.
State / territory	Pop. growth	Renting	Unemployment
New South Wales	1.2%	32.2%	5.1%
Victoria	1.9%	28.0%	5.1%
Queensland	1.8%	32.8%	5.5%
Western Australia	2.3%	27.0%	5.1%
South Australia	1.1%	27.5%	5.5%
Tasmania	0.3%	26.2%	6.0%
Australian Capital Territory	1.5%	30.2%	4.3%
Northern Territory	1.5%	48.9%	7.1%

A high yield in a growing, renter-heavy, low-unemployment state is a very different proposition from the same yield in a shrinking one. Run the specific property through the rental yield calculator and stress-test it in the cash flow calculator.

Try the calculators

Rental yield calculator

Check a high-yield property's real gross and net figure.

Open calculator

Yield-based purchase price calculator

Find the price that delivers a target yield in a chosen market.

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Related guides

Melbourne vs Sydney vs Brisbane vs Perth

A four-city yield head-to-head.

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Regional vs capital cities