Port Broughton, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Port Broughton occupies a sheltered inlet on the eastern shore of Spencer Gulf, at the northern end of South Australia's Yorke Peninsula, about 170 kilometres north-west of Adelaide. The town takes its name from the Broughton River, which the explorer Edward John Eyre had named after William Broughton; the river's mouth lies some way to the north. Surveyed in 1871 and established in 1876, it grew as a grain port, served by a horse-drawn narrow-gauge railway running in from Mundoora and by a long T-shaped jetty built the same year. The railway carried grain until 1942 and tall sailing ships called until 1949. Today Port Broughton is a relaxed holiday town known for fishing and blue-swimmer-crab netting.
Less advantaged than the national average
Port Broughton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 23% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 937, 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.
Port Broughton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,312
- Median age
- 62
- Median weekly household income
- $997
- SEIFA score
- 937
- Coordinates
- -33.6736, 137.9504
Port Broughton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Port Broughton 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 44%, 20% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 162 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 70 | 5% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 160 | 12% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 347 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 569 | 44% |
Share of the 1,308 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 291 | 51% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 114 | 20% |
| Rented | 115 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 511 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 44 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 572 occupied private dwellings in Port Broughton.
- Median weekly rent
- $235
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,348
- Median weekly personal income
- $507
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 117 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 19 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 20 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 345 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 39.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.1%
- Employed full-time
- 234
- Employed part-time
- 166
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 Port Broughton
Where is Port Broughton?
Port Broughton is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Port Broughton?
At the 2021 Census, Port Broughton had a population of about 1,312.
Is Port Broughton an advantaged area?
Port Broughton has an ABS SEIFA score of 937, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 23 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 23% of Australian suburbs.
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