Kingston Se, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kingston SE is a fishing town on the Limestone Coast of South Australia, set on Lacepede Bay about 240 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and 138 kilometres north-west of Mount Gambier. The Tanganekald and Meintangk peoples knew the place as Tangalun. The town was established and named Kingston in 1851 by the Cooke family of settlers; the letters SE, for South East, were added in 1940 to tell it apart from Kingston on Murray. A railway ran inland to Naracoorte from 1876 until 1987. Fishing, especially for rock lobster, anchors the economy, along with farming, wine and tourism. The town is best known for the Big Lobster, a towering sculpture nicknamed Larry that greets visitors at its entrance, and for the historic Cape Jaffa lighthouse, now a museum.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Kingston Se is more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 921, 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.
Kingston Se at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,342
- Median age
- 56
- Median weekly household income
- $1,143
- SEIFA score
- 921
- Coordinates
- -36.8416, 139.9091
Kingston Se demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kingston Se 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 37%, 25% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 175 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 105 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 226 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 336 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 502 | 37% |
Share of the 1,344 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 262 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 155 | 27% |
| Rented | 143 | 25% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 534 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 35 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 7 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 579 occupied private dwellings in Kingston Se.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,083
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,448
- Median weekly personal income
- $634
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 94 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 21 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 43 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 355 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.1%
- Employed full-time
- 284
- Employed part-time
- 243
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 Kingston Se
Where is Kingston Se?
Kingston Se is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Kingston Se?
At the 2021 Census, Kingston Se had a population of about 1,342.
Is Kingston Se an advantaged area?
Kingston Se has an ABS SEIFA score of 921, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 18 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of Australian suburbs.
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