Lobethal, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, about 42 kilometres south-east of the city. It was founded in 1842 by Prussian Lutheran immigrants led by Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche, who laid out their cottages in a traditional Silesian village style. The name is German for valley of praise, drawn from a passage in the Book of Chronicles. During the First World War anti-German feeling saw the town renamed Tweedvale, until Lobethal was officially restored in 1935. Wool processing became the main industry, centred on the Onkaparinga woollen mills that ran until 1992. Each December the town is famous across the state for its elaborate Christmas lights, a community tradition dating back to the 1950s.
Around the national middle
Lobethal is more socio-economically advantaged than about 43% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 976, 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 Lobethal 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 Lobethal 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
43/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (43/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
41/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $310 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 41% 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.
Lobethal at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,534
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,529
- SEIFA score
- 976
- Local government area
- Adelaide Hills
- Coordinates
- -34.9049, 138.8760
Map of Lobethal
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Lobethal
What it costs to live in Lobethal and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $310
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,473
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 80%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 15%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Lobethal demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Lobethal demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lobethal 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 mid-life (45–64) at 27% and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 473 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 247 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 590 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 696 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 531 | 21% |
Share of the 2,537 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 314 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 456 | 47% |
| Rented | 140 | 15% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 872 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 83 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 5 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 963 occupied private dwellings in Lobethal.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,867
- Median weekly personal income
- $759
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 368 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 129 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 16 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 964 (49%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 686
- Employed part-time
- 472
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 Lobethal
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lobethal is January (average daytime high around 29.8°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.8°C). The area receives roughly 452 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8°C | 16.4°C | 33 mm |
| Feb | 28.3°C | 15.6°C | 26 mm |
| Mar | 26.1°C | 14.7°C | 17 mm |
| Apr | 22.5°C | 12.8°C | 35 mm |
| May | 18.1°C | 10.8°C | 42 mm |
| Jun | 15.4°C | 8.9°C | 39 mm |
| Jul | 14.8°C | 8.4°C | 48 mm |
| Aug | 15.6°C | 8.1°C | 49 mm |
| Sep | 18.4°C | 9.2°C | 41 mm |
| Oct | 22.4°C | 10.9°C | 41 mm |
| Nov | 24.4°C | 12.6°C | 49 mm |
| Dec | 27.7°C | 14.4°C | 32 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Lobethal
Is Lobethal 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, Lobethal 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 Lobethal?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Lobethal was $310, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,473. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Lobethal?
Lobethal is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Adelaide Hills local government area.
What is the population of Lobethal?
At the 2021 Census, Lobethal had a population of about 2,534.
Is Lobethal an advantaged area?
Lobethal has an ABS SEIFA score of 976, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 43 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 43% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lobethal?
Lobethal has average daytime highs of about 22°C and overnight lows of about 11.9°C, with roughly 452 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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