Moonta, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Moonta is a town on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, about 165 kilometres north-north-west of Adelaide and close to Wallaroo and Kadina. It lies on the Country of the Narungga people, and its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word for a place of thick scrub. Rich copper deposits were found here in 1861 by a shepherd, Patrick Ryan, and the town was surveyed in 1863. Cornish miners flocked to the field, and Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo became known together as the Copper Coast, or Little Cornwall. The population peaked around twelve thousand in the 1870s before mining wound down early last century. Today the historic Moonta Mines and the biennial Kernewek Lowender Cornish festival keep that heritage alive.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Moonta is more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 842, 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.
Moonta at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 624
- Median age
- 60
- Median weekly household income
- $717
- SEIFA score
- 842
- Coordinates
- -34.0693, 137.5881
Moonta demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Moonta 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 40%, 34% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 52 | 8% |
| Youth (15–24) | 37 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 88 | 14% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 194 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 250 | 40% |
Share of the 621 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 138 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 74 | 23% |
| Rented | 110 | 34% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 256 | 78% |
| Townhouses & semis | 62 | 19% |
| Flats & apartments | 7 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 328 occupied private dwellings in Moonta.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 1.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,125
- Median weekly personal income
- $475
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 91 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 19 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 36 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 147 (26%)
- Labour-force participation
- 32.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 12.2%
- Employed full-time
- 83
- Employed part-time
- 69
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.
Common questions about Moonta
Where is Moonta?
Moonta is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Moonta?
At the 2021 Census, Moonta had a population of about 624.
Is Moonta an advantaged area?
Moonta has an ABS SEIFA score of 842, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 4 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of Australian suburbs.
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