Freeling, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Freeling is a town in the Light Regional Council area of South Australia, on the plains just west of the Barossa Valley and about 60 kilometres north of Adelaide. Surveyed around 1860, it was named after Sir Arthur Henry Freeling, a Surveyor-General of the colony, and grew as a service centre for the surrounding cereal and sheep farms on the old Gawler-to-Kapunda railway line. The town is widely known as a filming location for the television series McLeod's Daughters; its fictional Gungellan Hotel was the town's real Railway Hotel. Grain growing and mixed farming still anchor the local economy, and Freeling has increasingly become a commuter town for the greater Adelaide area.
Less advantaged than the national average
Freeling is more socio-economically advantaged than about 25% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 942, 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 Freeling 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Freeling 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
25/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (25/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
36/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $330 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 36% 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.
Freeling at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,688
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $1,755
- SEIFA score
- 942
- Local government area
- Light
- Coordinates
- -34.4487, 138.8193
Map of Freeling
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Freeling
What it costs to live in Freeling and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $330
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,400
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 85%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 13%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Freeling demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Freeling demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Freeling 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 27% and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 662 | 25% |
| Youth (15–24) | 336 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 720 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 622 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 359 | 13% |
Share of the 2,699 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 212 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 545 | 61% |
| Rented | 117 | 13% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 877 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 8 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 893 occupied private dwellings in Freeling.
- Average household size
- 2.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,992
- Median weekly personal income
- $790
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 258 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 53 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 72 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 872 (45%)
- Labour-force participation
- 65.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.2%
- Employed full-time
- 759
- Employed part-time
- 425
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 Freeling
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Freeling is January (average daytime high around 30.3°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.3°C). The area receives roughly 498 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.3°C | 16.7°C | 31 mm |
| Feb | 28.9°C | 16°C | 22 mm |
| Mar | 26.7°C | 14.7°C | 20 mm |
| Apr | 22.7°C | 12.4°C | 41 mm |
| May | 18°C | 9.6°C | 49 mm |
| Jun | 15.1°C | 7.4°C | 54 mm |
| Jul | 14.3°C | 6.8°C | 56 mm |
| Aug | 14.9°C | 6.8°C | 64 mm |
| Sep | 17.8°C | 8.1°C | 49 mm |
| Oct | 22.2°C | 10.5°C | 43 mm |
| Nov | 24.8°C | 12.4°C | 42 mm |
| Dec | 28.2°C | 14.6°C | 27 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Share your local knowledge of Freeling
Lived here or spent time in Freeling? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Freeling
Is Freeling 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, Freeling rates 29/100 overall (Lower 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 Freeling?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Freeling was $330, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,400. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Freeling?
Freeling is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Light local government area.
What is the population of Freeling?
At the 2021 Census, Freeling had a population of about 2,688.
Is Freeling an advantaged area?
Freeling has an ABS SEIFA score of 942, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 25 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 25% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Freeling?
Freeling has average daytime highs of about 22°C and overnight lows of about 11.3°C, with roughly 498 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.