Kensington (SA), SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kensington is a historic suburb just east of central Adelaide, in the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters. Unusually, its streets are laid out on the diagonal, set at an angle to reduce crossings of Second Creek, and the suburb is rich in heritage buildings. Surveyed in 1838, it was named after Kensington Palace in London. Mary MacKillop, the Catholic nun who became Australia's first saint, lived and worked here from 1872, founding the Sisters of St Joseph; the precinct that bears her name now holds a museum, a chapel and a college. Some of Adelaide's earliest horse-drawn trams ran from Kensington into the city. The visual-effects studio Rising Sun Pictures, known for its work on major films, took its name from a local hotel where its founders first met.
More advantaged than the national average
Kensington (SA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 69% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1021, 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 Kensington (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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Kensington (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
69/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (69/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% 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.
Kensington (SA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,808
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,355
- SEIFA score
- 1021
- Local government area
- Burnside
- Coordinates
- -34.9238, 138.6456
Map of Kensington (SA)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Kensington (SA)
What it costs to live in Kensington (SA) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,817
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 45%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 47%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Kensington (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.
Kensington (SA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kensington (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 young adults (25–44) at 28% and 34% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 235 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 206 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 502 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 431 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 435 | 24% |
Share of the 1,809 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 197 | 23% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 192 | 22% |
| Rented | 402 | 47% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 257 | 30% |
| Townhouses & semis | 366 | 42% |
| Flats & apartments | 232 | 27% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 864 occupied private dwellings in Kensington (SA).
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,340
- Median weekly personal income
- $797
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 581 (34%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 403 (23%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 9 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,063 (71%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 5%
- Employed full-time
- 513
- Employed part-time
- 350
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 Kensington (SA)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Kensington (SA) 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 Kensington (SA)
Is Kensington (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, Kensington (SA) rates 62/100 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 Kensington (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Kensington (SA) was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,817. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Kensington (SA)?
Kensington (SA) is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Burnside local government area.
What is the population of Kensington (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, Kensington (SA) had a population of about 1,808.
Is Kensington (SA) an advantaged area?
Kensington (SA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 1021, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 69 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 69% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Kensington (SA)?
Kensington (SA) 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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