Hahndorf, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Hahndorf is a town in the Adelaide Hills, about 28 km south-east of Adelaide. Founded in 1839, it is widely described as Australia's oldest surviving German settlement, established by Lutheran families who had migrated from Prussia. Its heritage main street — lined with timber-framed buildings, bakeries, pubs and German restaurants — has made it one of South Australia's most visited towns. The name combines the surname of Dirk Meinerts Hahn, captain of the ship Zebra that carried the settlers, with the German word 'Dorf', meaning village. Hahndorf was settled on the traditional land of the Peramangk people, who knew the place as Bukartilla.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Hahndorf is more socio-economically advantaged than about 80% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1042, 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 Hahndorf 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 Hahndorf 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
80/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (80/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
32/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $350 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 32% 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.
Hahndorf at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,814
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,735
- SEIFA score
- 1042
- Local government area
- Mount Barker
- Coordinates
- -35.0329, 138.8099
Map of Hahndorf
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Hahndorf
What it costs to live in Hahndorf and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $350
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,950
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 78%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 16%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Hahndorf demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Hahndorf demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Hahndorf 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% and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 427 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 286 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 452 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 765 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 890 | 32% |
Share of the 2,820 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 449 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 348 | 34% |
| Rented | 160 | 16% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 872 | 86% |
| Townhouses & semis | 71 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 22 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,013 occupied private dwellings in Hahndorf.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,301
- Median weekly personal income
- $767
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 540 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 157 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 25 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,307 (57%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.6%
- Employed full-time
- 677
- Employed part-time
- 527
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 Hahndorf
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Hahndorf 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 Hahndorf
Is Hahndorf 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, Hahndorf 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 Hahndorf?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Hahndorf was $350, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,950. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Hahndorf?
Hahndorf is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Mount Barker local government area.
What is the population of Hahndorf?
At the 2021 Census, Hahndorf had a population of about 2,814.
Is Hahndorf an advantaged area?
Hahndorf has an ABS SEIFA score of 1042, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 80 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 80% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Hahndorf?
Hahndorf 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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