Glenunga, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Glenunga is a leafy inner suburb in Adelaide's south-east, about five kilometres from the city centre in the City of Burnside. Its name is said to blend a local Aboriginal word, unga, meaning near, with the Scottish glen drawn from neighbouring Glen Osmond. Settled by farmers in the 1840s, the district once grew prize-winning wheat, and by the 1870s was a base for coaching firms, among them the famous Cobb and Co, whose horses grazed the surrounding paddocks. In the early twentieth century the Hill family invented the Hills Hoist, the rotary clothesline that became a South Australian icon, here in Glenunga. Today the suburb is known above all for Glenunga International High School, set near its heart, and for the quiet, tree-lined streets that give the small triangle of land its character.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Glenunga is more socio-economically advantaged than about 95% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1103, 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 Glenunga 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 Glenunga 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
95/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (95/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
23/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $380 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 23% 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.
Glenunga at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,184
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,918
- SEIFA score
- 1103
- Local government area
- Burnside
- Coordinates
- -34.9510, 138.6389
Map of Glenunga
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Glenunga
What it costs to live in Glenunga and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $380
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,400
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 75%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 23%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Glenunga demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Glenunga demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Glenunga 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 25% and 40% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 410 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 252 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 449 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 554 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 525 | 24% |
Share of the 2,190 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 360 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 253 | 31% |
| Rented | 185 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 551 | 67% |
| Townhouses & semis | 163 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 111 | 13% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 825 occupied private dwellings in Glenunga.
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,475
- Median weekly personal income
- $902
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 865 (40%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 813 (38%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 10 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,260 (76%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.5%
- Employed full-time
- 561
- Employed part-time
- 373
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 Glenunga
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Glenunga 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 Glenunga
Is Glenunga 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, Glenunga rates 71/100 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 Glenunga?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Glenunga was $380, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,400. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Glenunga?
Glenunga is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Burnside local government area.
What is the population of Glenunga?
At the 2021 Census, Glenunga had a population of about 2,184.
Is Glenunga an advantaged area?
Glenunga has an ABS SEIFA score of 1103, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 95 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 95% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Glenunga?
Glenunga 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).
Where Glenunga ranks
Glenunga appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.