Terowie, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Terowie sits in the Mid North of South Australia, about 220km north of Adelaide and 24km south-east of Peterborough. Its name comes from an Aboriginal word for a 'hidden waterhole', first applied to nearby Terowie Creek. Founded around 1875 and reached by rail in 1880, the town boomed as a busy break-of-gauge station, where broad-gauge trains from the south met the narrow-gauge line running north and goods had to be transhipped between them. A well-preserved streetscape of 1880s buildings has it listed as a historic town. In 1942 General Douglas MacArthur changed trains here and famously vowed 'I shall return'.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Terowie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 871, 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 Terowie 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Terowie 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
7/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (7/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
90/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $135 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 90% 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.
Terowie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 135
- Median age
- 56
- Median weekly household income
- $589
- SEIFA score
- 871
- Local government area
- Goyder
- Coordinates
- -33.1525, 138.9276
Map of Terowie
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Terowie
What it costs to live in Terowie and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $135
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $298
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 83%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 11%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Terowie demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Terowie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Terowie 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 41% and 14% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 9 | 7% |
| Youth (15–24) | 9 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 22 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 53 | 41% |
| Seniors (65+) | 37 | 28% |
Share of the 130 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 30 | 53% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 17 | 30% |
| Rented | 6 | 11% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 51 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 51 occupied private dwellings in Terowie.
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $880
- Median weekly personal income
- $437
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 16 (14%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 10 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 32 (26%)
- Labour-force participation
- 33.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.8%
- Employed full-time
- 19
- Employed part-time
- 21
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 Terowie
Lived here or spent time in Terowie? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Terowie
Is Terowie 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, Terowie rates 35/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Terowie?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Terowie was $135, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $298. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Terowie?
Terowie is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Goyder local government area.
What is the population of Terowie?
At the 2021 Census, Terowie had a population of about 135.
Is Terowie an advantaged area?
Terowie has an ABS SEIFA score of 871, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 7 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.