Marrabel, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Marrabel is a small settlement in South Australia's Mid North, on the Light River about 100km north-west of Adelaide, 24km south of Kapunda and 11km north-west of Saddleworth. Pastoralist William Peter overlanded stock to the district in 1841, and in 1859 John E. Marrabel laid out a township on his land, giving the place its name. Grain cropping has long shaped the surrounding farmland. Marrabel is best known for the Marrabel Rodeo, held every October since 1935 and one of the country's most enduring bush rodeos. A life-size statue on the main street recalls the 1953 contest in which buckjump rider Alan Woods met the famous bucking horse Curio, a moment still celebrated in local lore.
Around the national middle
Marrabel is more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 989, 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 Marrabel 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 Marrabel 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
51/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (51/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
73/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $205 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 73% 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.
Marrabel at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 101
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,125
- SEIFA score
- 989
- Local government area
- Clare and Gilbert Valleys
- Coordinates
- -34.1359, 138.8761
Map of Marrabel
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Marrabel
What it costs to live in Marrabel and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $205
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $813
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 65%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 21%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Marrabel demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Marrabel demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Marrabel 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 31% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 21 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 18 | 17% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 18 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 32 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 15 | 14% |
Share of the 104 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 18 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 7 | 18% |
| Rented | 8 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 43 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 43 occupied private dwellings in Marrabel.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,292
- Median weekly personal income
- $547
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 11 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 3 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 30 (38%)
- Labour-force participation
- 64.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.8%
- Employed full-time
- 31
- Employed part-time
- 20
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 Marrabel
Lived here or spent time in Marrabel? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Marrabel
Is Marrabel 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, Marrabel rates 58/100 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 Marrabel?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Marrabel was $205, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $813. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Marrabel?
Marrabel is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Clare and Gilbert Valleys local government area.
What is the population of Marrabel?
At the 2021 Census, Marrabel had a population of about 101.
Is Marrabel an advantaged area?
Marrabel has an ABS SEIFA score of 989, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 51 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.