Morphettville, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Morphettville is a suburb in Adelaide's south-west, within the City of Marion, and both the suburb and its best-known feature take their name from Sir John Morphett, a prominent figure among South Australia's early colonists. That feature is the Morphettville Racecourse, the principal home of thoroughbred horse racing in Adelaide, which dominates the northern part of the suburb. The Sturt River threads through the more residential south. Near the corner of Morphett Road and Oaklands Road stands a major bus depot, on a site that once held the Metro Drive-in, in its day the largest drive-in cinema in Adelaide. The suburb is also home to the Morphettville Park Football Club at Kellett Reserve and to the Marion Leisure and Fitness Centre, a busy local recreation hub.
Less advantaged than the national average
Morphettville is more socio-economically advantaged than about 38% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 967, 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 Morphettville 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 Morphettville 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
38/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (38/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% 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.
Morphettville at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,686
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,414
- SEIFA score
- 967
- Local government area
- Marion
- Coordinates
- -34.9845, 138.5431
Map of Morphettville
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Morphettville
What it costs to live in Morphettville and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,667
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 59%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 38%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Morphettville demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Morphettville demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Morphettville 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 32% and 27% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 526 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 411 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,169 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 745 | 20% |
| Seniors (65+) | 833 | 23% |
Share of the 3,684 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 379 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 545 | 35% |
| Rented | 589 | 38% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 855 | 55% |
| Townhouses & semis | 394 | 25% |
| Flats & apartments | 302 | 19% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,555 occupied private dwellings in Morphettville.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,027
- Median weekly personal income
- $743
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 973 (27%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 758 (21%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 88 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,832 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,029
- Employed part-time
- 667
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 Morphettville
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Morphettville is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 14°C). The area receives roughly 711 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 17.5°C | 29 mm |
| Feb | 26.5°C | 17°C | 29 mm |
| Mar | 24.7°C | 16°C | 20 mm |
| Apr | 21.4°C | 14°C | 51 mm |
| May | 17.3°C | 11.7°C | 86 mm |
| Jun | 14.8°C | 9.6°C | 100 mm |
| Jul | 14°C | 8.9°C | 104 mm |
| Aug | 14.7°C | 8.8°C | 95 mm |
| Sep | 17.2°C | 10.2°C | 62 mm |
| Oct | 20.5°C | 11.9°C | 52 mm |
| Nov | 22.7°C | 13.6°C | 52 mm |
| Dec | 25.6°C | 15.6°C | 31 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Morphettville
Is Morphettville 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, Morphettville rates 41/100 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 Morphettville?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Morphettville was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,667. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Morphettville?
Morphettville is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Marion local government area.
What is the population of Morphettville?
At the 2021 Census, Morphettville had a population of about 3,686.
Is Morphettville an advantaged area?
Morphettville has an ABS SEIFA score of 967, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 38 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 38% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Morphettville?
Morphettville has average daytime highs of about 20.6°C and overnight lows of about 12.9°C, with roughly 711 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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