Kimba, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kimba stands on the Eyre Highway near the top of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, about 282 kilometres north-west of Adelaide, and likes to bill itself as the halfway point across the continent, a claim marked by a towering galah statue beside the road. The town was built on Barngarla land, and its name is said to come from a local Aboriginal word for bushfire. The explorer Edward John Eyre passed through in 1839, pastoral leases followed from the 1870s, wheat farming took hold early in the twentieth century, the railway arrived in 1913, and the township was proclaimed in 1915. Grain growing and merino sheep underpin the district today, while the Big Galah, painted grain silos and an annual art prize draw passing travellers.
Less advantaged than the national average
Kimba is more socio-economically advantaged than about 25% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 942, 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.
Kimba at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 608
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $1,234
- SEIFA score
- 942
- Coordinates
- -33.1327, 136.4128
Kimba demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kimba 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%, 21% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 94 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 42 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 126 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 143 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 187 | 32% |
Share of the 592 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 121 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 63 | 26% |
| Rented | 52 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 237 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 246 occupied private dwellings in Kimba.
- Median weekly rent
- $139
- Median monthly mortgage
- $852
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,687
- Median weekly personal income
- $728
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 37 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 16 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 10 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 167 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.1%
- Employed full-time
- 170
- Employed part-time
- 88
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 Kimba
Where is Kimba?
Kimba is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Kimba?
At the 2021 Census, Kimba had a population of about 608.
Is Kimba an advantaged area?
Kimba has an ABS SEIFA score of 942, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 25 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 25% of Australian suburbs.
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