McLaren Vale, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
McLaren Vale is a town about 35 km south of Adelaide, at the heart of one of Australia's best-known wine regions. The valley is thought to have been named after John McLaren, a colonial Land Office surveyor who mapped the district in the 1840s. Two early villages, Gloucester and Bellevue, grew up here and were merged into a single township in 1923. Today the town is almost synonymous with wine, its surrounding district thick with vineyards and cellar doors, and it remains a popular wine-touring destination within easy reach of Adelaide. The Coast to Vines rail trail, which follows the route of a former railway line, runs through the area for walkers and cyclists.
Around the national middle
McLaren Vale is more socio-economically advantaged than about 55% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 995, 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 McLaren Vale 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 McLaren Vale 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
55/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (55/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
36/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $328 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 36% 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.
McLaren Vale at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,061
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $1,331
- SEIFA score
- 995
- Local government area
- Onkaparinga
- Coordinates
- -35.2047, 138.5522
Map of McLaren Vale
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in McLaren Vale
What it costs to live in McLaren Vale and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $328
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,560
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 76%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 15%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the McLaren Vale demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
McLaren Vale demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile McLaren Vale 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 33% and 27% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 547 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 353 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 678 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,142 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,341 | 33% |
Share of the 4,061 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 731 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 529 | 32% |
| Rented | 253 | 15% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,402 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 173 | 11% |
| Flats & apartments | 39 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,647 occupied private dwellings in McLaren Vale.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,772
- Median weekly personal income
- $687
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,052 (27%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 166 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 27 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,712 (50%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.4%
- Employed full-time
- 983
- Employed part-time
- 685
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 McLaren Vale
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in McLaren Vale is January (average daytime high around 26.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 13.2°C). The area receives roughly 801 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.7°C | 16.2°C | 32 mm |
| Feb | 25.4°C | 15.8°C | 24 mm |
| Mar | 23.7°C | 14.9°C | 20 mm |
| Apr | 20.5°C | 13.2°C | 47 mm |
| May | 16.5°C | 11.1°C | 96 mm |
| Jun | 14°C | 9.1°C | 114 mm |
| Jul | 13.2°C | 8.4°C | 138 mm |
| Aug | 13.9°C | 8.1°C | 124 mm |
| Sep | 16.2°C | 9.2°C | 73 mm |
| Oct | 19.5°C | 10.8°C | 53 mm |
| Nov | 21.6°C | 12.4°C | 46 mm |
| Dec | 24.5°C | 14.2°C | 34 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about McLaren Vale
Is McLaren Vale 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, McLaren Vale rates 49/100 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 McLaren Vale?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in McLaren Vale was $328, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,560. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is McLaren Vale?
McLaren Vale is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Onkaparinga local government area.
What is the population of McLaren Vale?
At the 2021 Census, McLaren Vale had a population of about 4,061.
Is McLaren Vale an advantaged area?
McLaren Vale has an ABS SEIFA score of 995, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 55 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 55% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in McLaren Vale?
McLaren Vale has average daytime highs of about 19.6°C and overnight lows of about 11.9°C, with roughly 801 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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