Karoonda, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Karoonda is a town in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, about 119 kilometres east of Adelaide and 60 kilometres north-east of Murray Bridge. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning 'winter camp'. The railway reached the area between 1911 and 1914, the town was proclaimed in 1913, and it became the seat of its own district council in 1922. Wheat-growing and merino wool have long underpinned the surrounding farmland. Karoonda is known for its grain silos, painted with mural art by Heesco in 2019, and for the Karoonda Farm Fair. An obelisk in the town marks the fall of the Karoonda meteorite in 1930, recovered nearby and later studied by scientists.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Karoonda is more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 900, 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.
Karoonda at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 517
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $822
- SEIFA score
- 900
- Coordinates
- -35.1525, 139.9186
Karoonda demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Karoonda 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 33%, 16% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 87 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 34 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 100 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 125 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 171 | 33% |
Share of the 517 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 105 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 59 | 27% |
| Rented | 35 | 16% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 207 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 214 occupied private dwellings in Karoonda.
- Median weekly rent
- $170
- Median monthly mortgage
- $551
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,135
- Median weekly personal income
- $455
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 32 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 12 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 15 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 137 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5%
- Employed full-time
- 114
- Employed part-time
- 66
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 Karoonda
Where is Karoonda?
Karoonda is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Karoonda?
At the 2021 Census, Karoonda had a population of about 517.
Is Karoonda an advantaged area?
Karoonda has an ABS SEIFA score of 900, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 12 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of Australian suburbs.
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