Pinnaroo, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Pinnaroo is a small Mallee town in the east of South Australia, about 243 kilometres east of Adelaide and close to the Victorian border, the seat of the Southern Mallee District Council. Its name is said to come from a word for 'big man' in a local Aboriginal language. The town dates from 1904 and grew once the railway reached the district in 1906, opening the surrounding mallee country to wheat and cereal farming; since around 1990 it has also become a significant potato-growing centre. A local landmark is the Mallee Tourist and Heritage Centre, which preserves wheat-breeding history, restored vintage farm machinery and a working collection of letterpress printing equipment.
Less advantaged than the national average
Pinnaroo is more socio-economically advantaged than about 22% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 932, 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.
Pinnaroo at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 768
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,257
- SEIFA score
- 932
- Coordinates
- -35.3217, 140.8591
Pinnaroo demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Pinnaroo 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 27%, 18% of homes are rented, and 14% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 116 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 77 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 204 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 207 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 167 | 22% |
Share of the 771 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 149 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 86 | 27% |
| Rented | 55 | 18% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 311 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 328 occupied private dwellings in Pinnaroo.
- Median weekly rent
- $161
- Median monthly mortgage
- $559
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,809
- Median weekly personal income
- $764
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 92 (14%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 60 (9%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 4 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 256 (41%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.3%
- Employed full-time
- 249
- Employed part-time
- 126
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 Pinnaroo
Where is Pinnaroo?
Pinnaroo is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Pinnaroo?
At the 2021 Census, Pinnaroo had a population of about 768.
Is Pinnaroo an advantaged area?
Pinnaroo has an ABS SEIFA score of 932, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 22 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 22% of Australian suburbs.
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