Robe, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Robe is a small, historic port on the Limestone Coast, set on Guichen Bay about 330 kilometres south-east of Adelaide. It sits on the ancestral lands of the Buandig and Ngarrindjeri peoples. Chosen as a port in 1845 and named after Major Frederick Robe, then governor of South Australia, the town boomed on wool and, briefly, as a landing point for more than sixteen thousand Chinese gold-seekers who walked overland to the Victorian diggings to dodge a landing tax. That prosperity left a streetscape of fine limestone buildings and the 1852 Cape Dombey Obelisk above the sea. Today Robe lives on rock-lobster fishing and summer holidays, its long firm beaches drawing swimmers, surfers, and anglers.
Around the national middle
Robe is more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 988, 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.
Is Robe a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Robe from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
51/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (51/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
63/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $250 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 63% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Robe at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,252
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $1,244
- SEIFA score
- 988
- Local government area
- Robe
- Coordinates
- -37.2153, 139.8359
Map of Robe
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Robe
What it costs to live in Robe and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $250
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,232
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 22%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Robe demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Robe demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Robe 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% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 166 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 85 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 235 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 373 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 397 | 32% |
Share of the 1,256 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 249 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 139 | 26% |
| Rented | 113 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 507 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 14 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 528 occupied private dwellings in Robe.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,709
- Median weekly personal income
- $740
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 126 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 37 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 13 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 496 (47%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.6%
- Employed full-time
- 292
- Employed part-time
- 228
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.
Share your local knowledge of Robe
Lived here or spent time in Robe? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Robe
Is Robe a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Robe rates 55/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Robe?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Robe was $250, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,232. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Robe?
Robe is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Robe local government area.
What is the population of Robe?
At the 2021 Census, Robe had a population of about 1,252.
Is Robe an advantaged area?
Robe has an ABS SEIFA score of 988, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 51 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.