Peterborough (SA), SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Peterborough is a town in the Mid North of South Australia, roughly 250 kilometres north of Adelaide. Settled in the 1870s, it was originally named Petersburg after an early German landholder, but anti-German feeling during the First World War saw it renamed Peterborough in 1917. The town grew into an important railway centre, a busy junction where three different rail gauges met; in 1970 it became a rare triple-gauge junction. The railway workshops and roundhouse employed much of the town, and that heritage survives today at the Steamtown rail museum. As rail work declined the population fell, but Peterborough endures as a service centre for the surrounding pastoral and farming district.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Peterborough (SA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 1% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 769, 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.
Peterborough (SA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,490
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $706
- SEIFA score
- 769
- Coordinates
- -32.9694, 138.8535
Peterborough (SA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Peterborough (SA) 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 32%, 23% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 188 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 107 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 246 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 475 | 32% |
| Seniors (65+) | 461 | 31% |
Share of the 1,477 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 330 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 148 | 22% |
| Rented | 152 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 634 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 22 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 667 occupied private dwellings in Peterborough (SA).
- Median weekly rent
- $160
- Median monthly mortgage
- $569
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $970
- Median weekly personal income
- $456
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 139 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 25 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 108 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 284 (22%)
- Labour-force participation
- 35.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 13.1%
- Employed full-time
- 181
- Employed part-time
- 180
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 Peterborough (SA)
Where is Peterborough (SA)?
Peterborough (SA) is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Peterborough (SA)?
At the 2021 Census, Peterborough (SA) had a population of about 1,490.
Is Peterborough (SA) an advantaged area?
Peterborough (SA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 769, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 1 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 1% of Australian suburbs.
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