Blinman, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Blinman is a tiny former mining town high in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, about 425 kilometres north of Adelaide. At roughly 610 metres above sea level it is the highest surveyed town in the state. The surrounding country is the traditional land of the Adnyamathanha people, its custodians for thousands of years. The town owes its existence to copper: in 1859 a shepherd named Robert Blinman found an outcrop of ore here, and the mine that followed, known as Wheal Blinman, gave the settlement its name and supported a population of around two thousand at its peak. Mining ended in 1918, but the restored Heritage Blinman Mine now offers underground tours, and the town makes a handy base for exploring nearby Brachina and Parachilna gorges.
Around the national middle
Blinman is more socio-economically advantaged than about 58% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1001, 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 Blinman 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Blinman 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
58/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (58/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
93/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $114 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 93% 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.
Blinman at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 43
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $1,937
- SEIFA score
- 1001
- Local government area
- Unincorporated SA
- Coordinates
- -31.1108, 138.7069
Map of Blinman
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Blinman
What it costs to live in Blinman and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $114
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $659
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 77%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 23%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Blinman demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Blinman demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Blinman 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 mid-life (45–64) at 40% and 24% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 9 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 8 | 16% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 10 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 20 | 40% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3 | 6% |
Share of the 50 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 10 | 77% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 0 | 0% |
| Rented | 3 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 9 | 56% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 16 occupied private dwellings in Blinman.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,166
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,047
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 10 (24%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 4 (9%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 18 (50%)
- Labour-force participation
- 77.8%
- Employed full-time
- 20
- Employed part-time
- 7
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.
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Common questions about Blinman
Is Blinman 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, Blinman rates 70/100 overall (Strong on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Blinman?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Blinman was $114, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $659. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Blinman?
Blinman is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Unincorporated SA local government area.
What is the population of Blinman?
At the 2021 Census, Blinman had a population of about 43.
Is Blinman an advantaged area?
Blinman has an ABS SEIFA score of 1001, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 58 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 58% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
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