Balaklava, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Balaklava is a town in the Mid North of South Australia, on the south bank of the Wakefield River about 90 kilometres north of Adelaide, near the meeting of Kaurna and Peramangk country. It takes its name, by way of the local Hundred of Balaklava, from the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War. A wayside hotel stood here in the 1850s, serving bullock teams hauling copper ore to the coast; after the town was laid out by Charles Fisher in 1869 it settled into a role as a wool and grain centre for the surrounding plains. Balaklava is well known in the district for its racing club, founded in 1903, and the annual Balaklava Cup, and is home to the long-running Plains Producer newspaper.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Balaklava is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 898, 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.
Balaklava at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,083
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,088
- SEIFA score
- 898
- Coordinates
- -34.1440, 138.4278
Balaklava demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Balaklava 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 seniors (65+) at 28%, 26% of homes are rented, and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 383 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 215 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 402 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 499 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 569 | 28% |
Share of the 2,068 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 333 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 244 | 29% |
| Rented | 216 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 729 | 87% |
| Townhouses & semis | 100 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 839 occupied private dwellings in Balaklava.
- Median weekly rent
- $227
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,035
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,462
- Median weekly personal income
- $611
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 178 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 76 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 59 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 608 (38%)
- Labour-force participation
- 51.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 4%
- Employed full-time
- 434
- Employed part-time
- 332
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.
Common questions about Balaklava
Where is Balaklava?
Balaklava is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Balaklava?
At the 2021 Census, Balaklava had a population of about 2,083.
Is Balaklava an advantaged area?
Balaklava has an ABS SEIFA score of 898, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
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