Owen, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Owen is a small town on the Adelaide Plains of South Australia, about 80km north of Adelaide and a short drive from Gawler. Europeans settled the area from around 1865, and the township was gazetted in 1879 when the railway to Balaklava was built. Early grazing land gradually gave way to cropping, and the surrounding farms now grow wheat, barley, canola, beans and olives. Concrete grain silos and a water tower dating from the 1940s stand over the town. Owen is perhaps best known for hosting Easter carriage-driving championships, which bring small-horse and pony turnouts from across the region to compete, drawing visitors to an otherwise quiet farming settlement.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Owen is more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 882, 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.
Owen at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 509
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,086
- SEIFA score
- 882
- Coordinates
- -34.2405, 138.5288
Owen demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Owen 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 26%, 14% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 96 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 65 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 107 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 136 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 110 | 21% |
Share of the 514 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 69 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 90 | 45% |
| Rented | 28 | 14% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 198 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 198 occupied private dwellings in Owen.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $964
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,437
- Median weekly personal income
- $494
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 39 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 14 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 137 (35%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.1%
- Employed full-time
- 110
- 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 Owen
Where is Owen?
Owen is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Owen?
At the 2021 Census, Owen had a population of about 509.
Is Owen an advantaged area?
Owen has an ABS SEIFA score of 882, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 8 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of Australian suburbs.
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