Cowell, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Cowell is a coastal town on the eastern shore of Franklin Harbor, on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, about 209km north-west of Adelaide and 92km south-west of Whyalla. It was named after John Clayton Cowell, a British soldier and Governor of Windsor Castle. Surveyed and proclaimed in 1880, the town soon gained a jetty in 1881, with a larger one following in 1913 to serve coastal shipping. Today wheat and sheep farming, commercial fishing and oyster aquaculture sustain the town. Cowell is also known for the jade discovered in the nearby Minbrie Ranges in 1965, a find that gave rise to the so-called 'Cowell Jade Province' and a small local jade industry.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Cowell is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 911, 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.
Cowell at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,124
- Median age
- 53
- Median weekly household income
- $1,161
- SEIFA score
- 911
- Coordinates
- -33.7465, 136.8168
Cowell demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Cowell 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 32%, 23% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 161 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 76 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 211 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 330 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 359 | 32% |
Share of the 1,137 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 201 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 107 | 25% |
| Rented | 99 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 353 | 81% |
| Townhouses & semis | 67 | 15% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 436 occupied private dwellings in Cowell.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,040
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,449
- Median weekly personal income
- $669
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 79 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 14 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 29 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 292 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.3%
- Employed full-time
- 245
- Employed part-time
- 172
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 Cowell
Where is Cowell?
Cowell is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Cowell?
At the 2021 Census, Cowell had a population of about 1,124.
Is Cowell an advantaged area?
Cowell has an ABS SEIFA score of 911, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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