Echunga, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Echunga is a small town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, about 34 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and a short drive from Hahndorf. Its name is thought to come from the Kaurna word 'Ityangga', variously recorded as meaning 'over there' or 'close by'. Europeans settled the area in 1839 and the town was laid out in 1849. When gold was discovered nearby in 1852 it became South Australia's first proclaimed goldfield, drawing diggers to the district for a time. The colonial-era Hagen Arms Hotel still stands on the main street, and each January riders in the Tour Down Under climb the hills around the town.
More advantaged than the national average
Echunga is more socio-economically advantaged than about 76% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1035, 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 Echunga 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 Echunga 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
76/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (76/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
39/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $320 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 39% 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.
Echunga at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,219
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $2,090
- SEIFA score
- 1035
- Local government area
- Mount Barker
- Coordinates
- -35.0918, 138.8034
Map of Echunga
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Echunga
What it costs to live in Echunga and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $320
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,761
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 87%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 11%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Echunga demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Echunga demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Echunga 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 29% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 221 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 145 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 295 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 357 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 205 | 17% |
Share of the 1,223 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 152 | 36% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 212 | 51% |
| Rented | 47 | 11% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 413 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 413 occupied private dwellings in Echunga.
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,322
- Median weekly personal income
- $887
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 129 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 31 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 5 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 573 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 67.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.6%
- Employed full-time
- 352
- Employed part-time
- 253
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 Echunga
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Echunga is January (average daytime high around 29.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.4°C). The area receives roughly 732 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.7°C | 17°C | 34 mm |
| Feb | 28.2°C | 16.4°C | 32 mm |
| Mar | 26°C | 15.4°C | 23 mm |
| Apr | 22.1°C | 13.5°C | 54 mm |
| May | 17.7°C | 11.2°C | 83 mm |
| Jun | 15.1°C | 9.3°C | 91 mm |
| Jul | 14.4°C | 8.5°C | 102 mm |
| Aug | 15.3°C | 8.4°C | 91 mm |
| Sep | 18°C | 9.7°C | 69 mm |
| Oct | 21.9°C | 11.5°C | 59 mm |
| Nov | 24.1°C | 13°C | 57 mm |
| Dec | 27.3°C | 15°C | 37 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Echunga
Is Echunga 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, Echunga rates 64/100 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 Echunga?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Echunga was $320, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,761. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Echunga?
Echunga is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Mount Barker local government area.
What is the population of Echunga?
At the 2021 Census, Echunga had a population of about 1,219.
Is Echunga an advantaged area?
Echunga has an ABS SEIFA score of 1035, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 76 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 76% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Echunga?
Echunga has average daytime highs of about 21.7°C and overnight lows of about 12.4°C, with roughly 732 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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