Laura (SA), SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Laura is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, set beside the Rocky River in the foothills of the Southern Flinders Ranges, about 40 kilometres east of Port Pirie and some 200 kilometres north of Adelaide. It was surveyed and established in 1871 by the pastoralist Herbert Bristow Hughes, who named it after his wife Laura. The railway arrived from Gladstone in 1884, helping the surrounding wheat and grazing district to grow. Laura is the birthplace of the much-loved poet C. J. Dennis, born here in 1876, and is also famous for the Golden North creamery, which has made ice cream in the town since 1923. Each April the streets fill for the long-running Laura Fair.
Less advantaged than the national average
Laura (SA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 939, 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 Laura (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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Laura (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
24/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (24/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
78/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $200 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 78% 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.
Laura (SA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 765
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,042
- SEIFA score
- 939
- Local government area
- Northern Areas
- Coordinates
- -33.1656, 138.2960
Map of Laura (SA)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Laura (SA)
What it costs to live in Laura (SA) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $200
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $892
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 22%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Laura (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.
Laura (SA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Laura (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 seniors (65+) at 28% and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 150 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 62 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 139 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 194 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 212 | 28% |
Share of the 757 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 144 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 81 | 26% |
| Rented | 69 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 291 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 15 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 309 occupied private dwellings in Laura (SA).
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,410
- Median weekly personal income
- $584
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 58 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 15 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 21 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 235 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.8%
- Employed full-time
- 177
- Employed part-time
- 111
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.
Share your local knowledge of Laura (SA)
Lived here or spent time in Laura (SA)? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Laura (SA)
Is Laura (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, Laura (SA) rates 42/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Laura (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Laura (SA) was $200, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $892. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Laura (SA)?
Laura (SA) is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Northern Areas local government area.
What is the population of Laura (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, Laura (SA) had a population of about 765.
Is Laura (SA) an advantaged area?
Laura (SA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 939, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 24 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.