Meadows, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Meadows is a small town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, within the District Council of Mount Barker and not far from the towns of Mount Barker and Hahndorf. The surrounding district is known by its Aboriginal name Battunga, meaning 'the place of big trees'. European settlement followed the German Lutheran arrivals of the late 1830s, and the town was established around 1850. In 1920 the geologist and Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson founded a hardwoods company with a timber mill near the nearby Kuitpo Forest. Meadows is known today for its long-running Easter Fair and Country Fair, and for the bushwalking and cycling trails of Kuitpo Forest.
More advantaged than the national average
Meadows is more socio-economically advantaged than about 63% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1009, 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.
Meadows at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,717
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,964
- SEIFA score
- 1009
- Coordinates
- -35.1792, 138.7548
Meadows demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Meadows 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 young adults (25–44) at 29%, 11% of homes are rented, and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 355 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 146 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 497 | 29% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 472 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 232 | 14% |
Share of the 1,702 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 184 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 332 | 56% |
| Rented | 65 | 11% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 582 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 5 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 592 occupied private dwellings in Meadows.
- Median weekly rent
- $343
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,645
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,200
- Median weekly personal income
- $917
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 182 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 50 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 14 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 657 (50%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.2%
- Employed full-time
- 541
- Employed part-time
- 286
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 Meadows
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Meadows is January (average daytime high around 25.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.6°C). The area receives roughly 600 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.9°C | 14.4°C | 33 mm |
| Feb | 24.7°C | 13.9°C | 27 mm |
| Mar | 22.8°C | 13.1°C | 20 mm |
| Apr | 19.7°C | 11.6°C | 36 mm |
| May | 15.7°C | 9.6°C | 64 mm |
| Jun | 13.3°C | 7.8°C | 64 mm |
| Jul | 12.6°C | 7.2°C | 80 mm |
| Aug | 13.3°C | 6.8°C | 82 mm |
| Sep | 15.8°C | 7.9°C | 58 mm |
| Oct | 19.3°C | 9.4°C | 49 mm |
| Nov | 21.1°C | 10.9°C | 50 mm |
| Dec | 23.9°C | 12.6°C | 37 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Meadows
Where is Meadows?
Meadows is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Meadows?
At the 2021 Census, Meadows had a population of about 1,717.
Is Meadows an advantaged area?
Meadows has an ABS SEIFA score of 1009, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 63 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 63% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Meadows?
Meadows has average daytime highs of about 19°C and overnight lows of about 10.4°C, with roughly 600 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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