Adelaide, SA

By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan · Updated 30 May 2026

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.

81/100

Suburb Score

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.

Adelaide at a glance

Population (2021): 18,202
Median age: 31
Median weekly household income: $1,365
SEIFA score: 1045
Coordinates: -34.9258, 138.6002

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%, 64% of homes are rented, 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.

Median weekly rent: $400
Median monthly mortgage: $1,733
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).

Common questions about Adelaide

Where is Adelaide?

Adelaide is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.

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.