Gawler (SA), SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Gawler is South Australia's oldest country town, lying about 40 kilometres north of Adelaide where the North Para and South Para rivers meet to form the Gawler River, and serving as a southern gateway to the Barossa Valley. The surrounding plains are the country of the Kaurna people. Founded in 1839 and named after the colony's second governor, George Gawler, its township plan was laid out that year by William Jacob for the firm of Colonel William Light, the surveyor who had designed Adelaide. The railway reached Gawler in 1857 and later branched into the Barossa, and the town grew on flour milling and engineering works that built agricultural machinery and locomotives. Today Gawler is a commercial centre for the Mid-North on the edge of greater Adelaide.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Gawler (SA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 926, 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 Gawler (SA) 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 Gawler (SA) 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
19/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (19/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
65/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $240 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 65% 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.
Gawler (SA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 668
- Median age
- 57
- Median weekly household income
- $936
- SEIFA score
- 926
- Local government area
- Gawler
- Coordinates
- -34.5986, 138.7444
Map of Gawler (SA)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Gawler (SA)
What it costs to live in Gawler (SA) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $240
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,200
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 56%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 31%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Gawler (SA) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Gawler (SA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Gawler (SA) 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 35% and 24% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 60 | 9% |
| Youth (15–24) | 59 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 104 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 211 | 32% |
| Seniors (65+) | 231 | 35% |
Share of the 665 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 106 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 83 | 25% |
| Rented | 105 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 179 | 53% |
| Townhouses & semis | 116 | 34% |
| Flats & apartments | 29 | 9% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 339 occupied private dwellings in Gawler (SA).
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,552
- Median weekly personal income
- $597
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 155 (24%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 31 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 22 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 266 (45%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.4%
- Employed full-time
- 151
- Employed part-time
- 94
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 Gawler (SA)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gawler (SA) 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).
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Common questions about Gawler (SA)
Is Gawler (SA) 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, Gawler (SA) rates 34/100 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 Gawler (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Gawler (SA) was $240, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,200. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Gawler (SA)?
Gawler (SA) is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Gawler local government area.
What is the population of Gawler (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, Gawler (SA) had a population of about 668.
Is Gawler (SA) an advantaged area?
Gawler (SA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 926, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 19 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Gawler (SA)?
Gawler (SA) 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).
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