Milang, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Milang is a small town on the western shore of Lake Alexandrina in South Australia, about 71 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and roughly 20 kilometres north-east of Goolwa. Surveyed in 1853, it grew during the 1860s and 1870s into the largest inland port in South Australia, transferring goods between Murray River paddle steamers and bullock teams or, from 1884, the railway to Strathalbyn. The river trade faded as the railways spread, and the branch line finally closed in 1970. Today Milang is a quiet lakeside town known for sailing, fishing and boating, and its old goods shed houses a railway and historical museum that records the port era. The town also hosted South Australia's first Boy Scout camp in 1909.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Milang is more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 858, 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 Milang 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Milang 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
5/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (5/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
63/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $250 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 63% 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.
Milang at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 962
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $858
- SEIFA score
- 858
- Local government area
- Alexandrina
- Coordinates
- -35.3799, 138.9695
Map of Milang
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Milang
What it costs to live in Milang and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $250
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,000
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 79%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 15%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Milang demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Milang demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Milang 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 33% and 18% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 109 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 72 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 163 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 320 | 33% |
| Seniors (65+) | 294 | 31% |
Share of the 958 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 185 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 149 | 35% |
| Rented | 65 | 15% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 396 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 6 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 424 occupied private dwellings in Milang.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,167
- Median weekly personal income
- $496
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 162 (18%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 27 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 26 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 294 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.1%
- Employed full-time
- 203
- Employed part-time
- 140
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 Milang
Is Milang 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, Milang rates 24/100 overall (Lower 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 Milang?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Milang was $250, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,000. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Milang?
Milang is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Alexandrina local government area.
What is the population of Milang?
At the 2021 Census, Milang had a population of about 962.
Is Milang an advantaged area?
Milang has an ABS SEIFA score of 858, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 5 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
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