Orroroo, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Orroroo is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, on Pekina Creek in the southern Flinders Ranges, about 270 kilometres north of Adelaide. Before European settlement the area was the home of the Ngadjuri people, whose country lay east of the ranges. The origin of the town's name is uncertain: one idea is that it imitates the sound of wind blowing through the acacia trees, while others suggest an Aboriginal word for dust or drift, or the name of an Aboriginal girl at the nearby Pekina station. Settlers arrived from the 1840s, and the town was surveyed in 1875 and reached by railway in 1881. Wheat, sheep and cattle work the land, and a local curiosity is Magnetic Hill, where cars appear to roll uphill.
Less advantaged than the national average
Orroroo is more socio-economically advantaged than about 29% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 950, 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.
Orroroo at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 578
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $966
- SEIFA score
- 950
- Coordinates
- -32.6962, 138.6879
Orroroo demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Orroroo 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 32%, 13% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 84 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 46 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 99 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 160 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 186 | 32% |
Share of the 575 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 129 | 56% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 63 | 27% |
| Rented | 29 | 13% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 222 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 226 occupied private dwellings in Orroroo.
- Median weekly rent
- $162
- Median monthly mortgage
- $650
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,410
- Median weekly personal income
- $554
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 41 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 10 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 4 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 157 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.1%
- Employed full-time
- 142
- Employed part-time
- 89
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 Orroroo
Where is Orroroo?
Orroroo is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Orroroo?
At the 2021 Census, Orroroo had a population of about 578.
Is Orroroo an advantaged area?
Orroroo has an ABS SEIFA score of 950, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 29 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 29% of Australian suburbs.
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