Adelaide, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Adelaide's city centre occupies the Kaurna lands on the plains between the Mount Lofty Ranges and Gulf St Vincent. The Kaurna people know the area around the centre and Park Lands as Tarndanya, often translated as male red kangaroo rock. Laid out from 1836 by Colonel William Light, the square-mile grid is wrapped entirely in parklands and was the heart of a colony settled by free migrants rather than convicts. South Australia's capital is nicknamed the City of Churches and is famous for the Adelaide Fringe, among the largest arts festivals in the world. North Terrace lines up the state's major museums and galleries, while the Central Market anchors its food culture.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Adelaide is more socio-economically advantaged than about 81% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1045, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Adelaide a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Adelaide from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
81/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (81/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
20/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $400 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 20% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Adelaide at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 18,202
- Median age
- 31
- Median weekly household income
- $1,365
- SEIFA score
- 1045
- Local government area
- Adelaide
- Coordinates
- -34.9258, 138.6002
Map of Adelaide
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Adelaide
What it costs to live in Adelaide and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $400
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 33%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 64%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Adelaide demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Adelaide demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Adelaide using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 41% and 56% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 943 | 5% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,563 | 25% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 7,375 | 41% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,203 | 18% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,123 | 12% |
Share of the 18,207 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,445 | 18% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,234 | 15% |
| Rented | 5,266 | 64% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 355 | 4% |
| Townhouses & semis | 2,201 | 27% |
| Flats & apartments | 5,520 | 67% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 8,251 occupied private dwellings in Adelaide.
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,056
- Median weekly personal income
- $726
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 9,420 (56%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 7,710 (46%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 277 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 13,012 (76%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 10.5%
- Employed full-time
- 5,200
- Employed part-time
- 3,485
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Adelaide
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Adelaide is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 14°C). The area receives roughly 711 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 17.5°C | 29 mm |
| Feb | 26.5°C | 17°C | 29 mm |
| Mar | 24.7°C | 16°C | 20 mm |
| Apr | 21.4°C | 14°C | 51 mm |
| May | 17.3°C | 11.7°C | 86 mm |
| Jun | 14.8°C | 9.6°C | 100 mm |
| Jul | 14°C | 8.9°C | 104 mm |
| Aug | 14.7°C | 8.8°C | 95 mm |
| Sep | 17.2°C | 10.2°C | 62 mm |
| Oct | 20.5°C | 11.9°C | 52 mm |
| Nov | 22.7°C | 13.6°C | 52 mm |
| Dec | 25.6°C | 15.6°C | 31 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Adelaide
Is Adelaide a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Adelaide rates 61/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Adelaide?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Adelaide was $400, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Adelaide?
Adelaide is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Adelaide local government area.
What is the population of Adelaide?
At the 2021 Census, Adelaide had a population of about 18,202.
Is Adelaide an advantaged area?
Adelaide has an ABS SEIFA score of 1045, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 81 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 81% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Adelaide?
Adelaide has average daytime highs of about 20.6°C and overnight lows of about 12.9°C, with roughly 711 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Adelaide?
Adelaide is one of the most populous suburbs in South Australia — the 5th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 18,202 usual residents).
Where Adelaide ranks
Adelaide appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.