Watervale, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Watervale lies in the Clare Valley of South Australia's Mid North, about 120km north of Adelaide and just south of Clare. It sits on the lands of the Ngadjuri people, who remain the area's traditional and continuing custodians. European settlement began in 1847, and within a few years the valley's potential for wine became clear: a vineyard was planted here in 1852 and wine made by 1856, and historic cellars such as Quelltaler Estate, dating from 1865, still operate. The district's terra rossa soils have made it one of the most admired homes of Australian Riesling. The Riesling Trail, following an old railway line, now draws walkers and cyclists through the vines.
Around the national middle
Watervale is more socio-economically advantaged than about 57% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1000, 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 Watervale 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 Watervale 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
57/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (57/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
53/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $275 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 53% 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.
Watervale at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 338
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,437
- SEIFA score
- 1000
- Local government area
- Clare and Gilbert Valleys
- Coordinates
- -33.9646, 138.6489
Map of Watervale
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Watervale
What it costs to live in Watervale and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $275
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,231
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 81%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 16%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Watervale demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Watervale demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Watervale 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% and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 78 | 23% |
| Youth (15–24) | 24 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 81 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 93 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 66 | 19% |
Share of the 342 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 51 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 45 | 38% |
| Rented | 19 | 16% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 115 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 118 occupied private dwellings in Watervale.
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,843
- Median weekly personal income
- $778
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 37 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 8 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 10 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 150 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 0.6%
- Employed full-time
- 110
- Employed part-time
- 62
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.
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Common questions about Watervale
Is Watervale 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, Watervale rates 56/100 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 Watervale?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Watervale was $275, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,231. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Watervale?
Watervale is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Clare and Gilbert Valleys local government area.
What is the population of Watervale?
At the 2021 Census, Watervale had a population of about 338.
Is Watervale an advantaged area?
Watervale has an ABS SEIFA score of 1000, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 57 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 57% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
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