Melrose (SA), SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Melrose is the oldest town in South Australia's Flinders Ranges, nestled at the foot of Mount Remarkable about 265 kilometres north of Adelaide. The surrounding country belongs to the Nukunu people, with Adnyamathanha lands extending through the ranges to the north. Copper was discovered nearby and mining began in 1846, though the deposit proved hard to work and the field opened and closed several times before ending in 1917; pastoralism underpinned the district from the mid-nineteenth century. Many of Melrose's colonial buildings survive, including its old courthouse and Jacka's Brewery. In recent decades the town has reinvented itself as a mountain-biking destination, drawing riders to the trails around Mount Remarkable and events such as the Fat Tyre Festival.
Around the national middle
Melrose (SA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 57% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 999, 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 Melrose (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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Melrose (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
57/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (57/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
82/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $180 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 82% 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.
Melrose (SA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 342
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,416
- SEIFA score
- 999
- Local government area
- Mount Remarkable
- Coordinates
- -32.8280, 138.1824
Map of Melrose (SA)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Melrose (SA)
What it costs to live in Melrose (SA) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $180
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,230
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 84%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 12%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Melrose (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.
Melrose (SA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Melrose (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 mid-life (45–64) at 27% and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 63 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 29 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 65 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 94 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 93 | 27% |
Share of the 344 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 72 | 55% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 38 | 29% |
| Rented | 16 | 12% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 124 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 133 occupied private dwellings in Melrose (SA).
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,843
- Median weekly personal income
- $743
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 20 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 120 (46%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.8%
- Employed full-time
- 97
- Employed part-time
- 52
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.
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Common questions about Melrose (SA)
Is Melrose (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, Melrose (SA) rates 65/100 overall (Strong 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 Melrose (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Melrose (SA) was $180, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,230. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Melrose (SA)?
Melrose (SA) is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Mount Remarkable local government area.
What is the population of Melrose (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, Melrose (SA) had a population of about 342.
Is Melrose (SA) an advantaged area?
Melrose (SA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 999, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 57 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 57% of Australian suburbs.
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