Kapunda, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kapunda lies on the Light River just north-west of the Barossa Valley in South Australia, about 80 kilometres north of Adelaide. Copper ore was discovered nearby in 1842 and a mine opened in 1844, drawing mostly Cornish miners and growing Kapunda into one of colonial South Australia's important early copper towns; the mine worked until 1879. The town's Cornish roots are still celebrated, and an eight-metre statue of a miner, Map Kernow, or Son of Cornwall, has stood at the southern approach since 1988. Kapunda was also the home of the pastoralist Sir Sidney Kidman, who at his height owned sixty-eight properties across the country, and it hosts a lively Celtic music festival.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Kapunda is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 910, 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.
Kapunda at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,947
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,140
- SEIFA score
- 910
- Coordinates
- -34.3185, 138.8962
Kapunda demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kapunda 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 28%, 19% of homes are rented, and 14% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 475 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 271 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 579 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 836 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 784 | 27% |
Share of the 2,945 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 496 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 472 | 38% |
| Rented | 232 | 19% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,161 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 53 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,229 occupied private dwellings in Kapunda.
- Median weekly rent
- $246
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,127
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,490
- Median weekly personal income
- $625
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 381 (14%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 56 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 34 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 916 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.7%
- Employed full-time
- 695
- Employed part-time
- 489
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.
Common questions about Kapunda
Where is Kapunda?
Kapunda is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Kapunda?
At the 2021 Census, Kapunda had a population of about 2,947.
Is Kapunda an advantaged area?
Kapunda has an ABS SEIFA score of 910, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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