Strathalbyn is a rural locality in South Australia, in Alexandrina Council, characterised by heritage streetscapes. Notable landmarks include CWA Hall, RSL Hall and Town Hall.
Shops and everyday services are easier to access than in most comparable places. School access is exceptionally strong, placing it among the highest-ranked rural localities. The suburb has an unusually high concentration of heritage listings, and population growth is an exceptional strength. Trade-offs centre on higher rents and lower socio-economic advantage, with median rents 29% above the peer median.
Overall, Strathalbyn suits people prioritising school access and heritage character over lower rents.
Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.
Strengths and weaknesses
Rural locality · compared with rural localities in South Australia (602)
Strengths
School access is exceptionally strong
The suburb has an unusually high concentration of heritage listings
Population growth is a relative strength
Shops and everyday services are easier to access than in most comparable places
Weaknesses
Rents run above those in comparable places
Socio-economic advantage is a relative weakness
What stands out
Heritage streetscapes
CWA Hall
RSL Hall
Town Hall
Who it suits
Stars are audience-fit ratings derived from Suburb.Guide data, not demographic counts or user reviews.
Families★★☆☆☆
Professionals★☆☆☆☆
Retirees★☆☆☆☆
Students★☆☆☆☆
Budget buyers★☆☆☆☆
Housing, growth and risk
How Strathalbyn compares
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median house price
—
No data available
Median rent
$540/wk
Houses $550 · Units $498
Population (ERP)
7,816
+1.9% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
6.1%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Livability profile
Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)
How it compares
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Desirability
#60
among Country & regional · Mature
Crime rate
25th
percentile in state (higher = more crime)
Pop. growth
92nd
percentile in SA
Rented dwellings
21%
2021 Census tenure
Advantage (IRSAD)
3/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
46th
percentile among schools with ICSEA
Population growth
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Housing mix
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Risks & flags
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Living here
Desirability
Ranks & confidence
Desirability score
41.9/100 — Average
National rank
3925th in Australia
State rank
350th in SA
Peer rank
#60 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
Cohort rank
#92 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
97%
Data sources & freshness
Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Housing
Flats / units (01/01/26 to 31/03/26)
$497.5
Houses (01/01/26 to 31/03/26)
$550
All types (01/01/26 to 31/03/26)
$540
Rental bonds lodged (01/01/26 to 31/03/26)
25
Median weekly rent from SA Housing Authority rental bond data. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Median house sale prices cover metropolitan Adelaide and selected fringe councils (19 LGAs, including Adelaide Hills and Gawler), not all of regional South Australia.
Household crowding and healthy vacancy — not cheapness Modest price change as a healthy-growth band
Data sources & freshness
SA rent report & metro median house sales — Government of South Australia · 1 January - 31 March 2026 · Updated · Quarterly; metro-fringe sales only
Population
Estimated resident population
7,816(June 2025)
+1.9% annual · +10.9% over 5 years · 92th percentile in SA
Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+1.9%
5-year growth
+10.9%
Change in 1 year
+143
Change in 5 years
+768
Growth rank in SA
92th percentile
ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.
Methodology
Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.
The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~8,650), extrapolated at +2.0% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
Population
7,246
Median age
47
Median household income / week
$1,254
Dwelling vacancy
6.1%
Unoccupied private dwellings
186 of 3,030
Median monthly mortgage
$1,500
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$300
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
40.1% / 39.2% / 20.7%
Employment rate
51.5%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
8.9% / 1% / 72.5%
Walked or cycled to work
2.6%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
2,652 / 153 / 0 (+ 13 other)
Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)
Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus
Data sources & freshness
2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
13.7% of adults have a university degree, compared with 22.6% across South Australia. 23.2% have a trade or vocational qualification.
University qualified13.7% · 22.6% SA
Diploma qualified9.8% · 8.6% SA
Trade / vocational23.2% · 17.5% SA
Year 12 or below53.3% · 51.2% SA
Highest qualification field
Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).
Engineering and related technologies17.7%
Management and commerce16.7%
Society and culture15.2%
Health14.8%
Education10.5%
Food, hospitality and personal services7.3%
How these groups are defined
Measure
Definition
University qualified
Bachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualified
Advanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocational
Certificate III + IV
Year 12
Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12
Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below
People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)
University qualifications from the 2021 Census
Data sources & freshness
2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Tax & income
Median taxable income (2023–24)
$52,614
41st percentile in SA · -10% vs Australia
Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$57,652
51st percentile in SA · -11% vs Australia
Residents with rental investments
12.0%
43rd percentile in SA · -13% vs Australia
Median super balance (2023–24)
$90,931
65th percentile in SA · +44% vs Australia
Residents with business income
11.0%
50th percentile in SA · +6% vs Australia
Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 5255 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.
Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
6,458
Taxpayers reporting net rent
776
Median net rent
$473
Taxpayers reporting business income
732
Taxable income vs state median
-3%
Salary / wages vs state median
0%
Rental investment vs state median
0%
Super vs state median
+17%
Business income vs state median
0%
Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in SA, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.
Data sources & freshness
Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary
Seasonal & agricultural work
6.4% of employed residents work in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2.8× the Australian share (2.3%) — compared with 3.8% across South Australia.
Agriculture, forestry & fishing
6.4%
45th percentile in SA · +178% vs Australia
Resident workers (2021)
196
WHM specified work
Subclass 417 / 462
Postcode 5255
Occupation mix in this industry
2021 Census G56, residents employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Counts below 10 are not shown.
Labourers72
Managers69
Machinery operators and drivers18
Technicians and trades workers11
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census General Community Profile tables G54 (industry of employment) and G56 (industry by occupation), Statistical Area Level (suburb), place of usual residence. Figures are residents’ main job in the week before Census night — not jobs located in the suburb. Agriculture, forestry and fishing is the 1-digit ANZSIC division; grape growing and other 3- and 4-digit industries are not in this datapack. The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Plant and animal cultivation in postcode 5255 (Regional Australia) may count as specified work for Working Holiday Maker visas (subclasses 417 and 462). This is a postcode rule from the Home Affairs instruments — not evidence that seasonal jobs exist here, and not a count of WHM residents. Home Affairs specified work · LIN 22/012 · LIN 22/013. Compilation used: 5 April 2025.
Region employment estimates (SA4, not this suburb)
Jobs and Skills Australia NERO modelled estimates for South Australia - South East (SA4 407), 2026-08. These figures describe the broader region, not this suburb, and occupations are not added together.
Livestock Farmers ANZSCO 12134,568
Mixed Crop and Livestock Farmers ANZSCO 12143,627
Livestock Farm Workers ANZSCO 84151,363
Crop Farmers ANZSCO 12121,073
Crop Farm Workers ANZSCO 8412992
Agricultural, Forestry and Horticultural Plant Operators ANZSCO 7211833
Forestry and Logging Workers ANZSCO 8413346
Mixed Crop and Livestock Farm Workers ANZSCO 8416308
Other Farm, Forestry and Garden Workers ANZSCO 8419301
Aquaculture Workers ANZSCO 841110
South Australia - South East is a Statistical Area Level 4. Fruit, nut and vegetable workers are not published separately in NERO (they sit under ANZSCO 8412). Jobs and Skills Australia warns not to sum occupations or geographies. NERO data. Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation, Jobs and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. CC BY 4.0.
Census employed residents counted in G54: 3,081 · AFF share +68% vs the state.
Data sources & freshness
2021 Census — industry of employment (G54/G56), place of usual residence — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated · Resident main job in the week before Census night, not jobs located in the suburb
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
WHM specified work areas (LIN 22/012 and LIN 22/013) — Department of Home Affairs · 2025-04-05 · Updated · Postcode eligibility for plant and animal cultivation; not a count of WHM residents
Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation (NERO), SA4 × ANZSCO 4-digit — Jobs and Skills Australia · 2026-08 · Updated · Monthly modelled SA4 estimates; not suburb-level. CC BY 4.0
Community & culture
2.5% speak a language other than English at home; 12.9% born overseas
Language at home
6,759 English only · 175 other
Non-English at home
2.5%
Born overseas
884 (12.9%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
139 (1.9%)
Australian citizens
6,683
Languages spoken at home (other than English)
8
Top languages other than English
Share of residents who speak a language other than English at home (2021 Census).
Polish10 · 22.7%
Afrikaans7 · 15.9%
German7 · 15.9%
French6 · 13.6%
Greek4 · 9.1%
Italian4 · 9.1%
Australian Indigenous languages3 · 6.8%
Filipino3 · 6.8%
Religion
52.4%No religion
No religion is the most common response at 52.4%, while Christianity accounts for 39.4%.
Measure
Suburb
State
No religion
52.4%
45.2%
Christianity
39.4%
40%
Other / not stated
8.2%
14.7%
Christian denominations
Denomination
Suburb
State
Uniting Church
8.8%
4.8%
Catholic
7.7%
15.5%
Anglican
7.7%
7.2%
Christian (not further defined)
4%
2.6%
Lutheran
3.4%
2.4%
Pentecostal
2%
1.1%
2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.
Data sources & freshness
2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.
Offence counts & rates
Total offences (2025–26)
140
Against the person
34
Against property
106
Rate per 1,000 residents
17.9
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 213 residents
State crime-rate percentile
25.4th (higher = more crime)
Family & domestic abuse offences
53
Decrease (daily rate)
-20.9%
Recorded road crashes (in suburb)
124
Crash rate per 1,000 residents (state rank)
15.86
Most common offence types
Damage Or Destroy Property23
Motor Vehicle Theft And Related Offences20
Serious Assault21
Theft From A Person18
Theft From Retail Premises21
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)
Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates
Tyndale Christian School StrathalbynCombined · Independent · ICSEA 1013 · 53th percentile · LBOTE 8% · 317 students · Top SEA quarter 12%View on My School →
Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)
Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts
Reasonable bus and transport access — 17 public transport stops
Walkability proxy
26/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
0.69
Camping & holiday parks(3)
Strathalbyn Caravan ParkCampground
Wirraway Homestead - BaptistCareCampground
660 Old Bull Creek Road, Strathalbyn
Strathalbyn Caravan ParkCaravan park
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Named sporting clubs from OpenStreetMap and the SA Sports Vouchers venue list, assigned to this suburb's boundary. Sporting facilities such as ovals, courts and recreation centres are listed under Amenities.
Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)
Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000
Data sources & freshness
OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries
Health access
Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
1
Nearest hospital
Strathalbyn and District Health Service (2.2 km)
Nearest hospital type
Public Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
Emergency department in suburb
On site
GP clinics in suburb
0
Aged-care services
2
Residential aged-care places
139
GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).
Strathalbyn and District Health Service14 Alfred PlacePublic Hospital
Aged-care services
Estia Health StrathalbynSTRATHALBYNResidential
Strathalbyn & District Aged Care FacilitySTRATHALBYNResidential
Australian Government–subsidised services from the AIHW GEN list (30 June 2025), assigned to this suburb by location.
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)
Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.
For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.
Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.
Summer (Dec–Feb)
Usual max / min
29° / 14°
Rainfall
67 mm · ~8 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
Usual max / min
23° / 10°
Rainfall
97 mm · ~12 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
Usual max / min
16° / 6°
Rainfall
148 mm · ~18 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
Usual max / min
22° / 9°
Rainfall
119 mm · ~15 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid against all current SA Planning risk layers (high, medium, general, urban interface, regional, outback). Flood cover is the share of the suburb boundary overlapping current SA Planning flood overlays (flooding and evidence required). Safer places from CFS designated locations.
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 18.9 km away).
Coalition 49.2%Labor 50.8%
4.2 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +0.9 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
StrathalbynLabor 50.9% · Coalition 49.1% TPP (2025)3.0 km away
MacclesfieldLabor 60.8% · Coalition 39.2% TPP (2025)9.2 km away
AshbourneLabor 43.1% · Coalition 56.9% TPP (2025)9.9 km away
WoodchesterLabor 45.5% · Coalition 54.5% TPP (2025)10.3 km away
MeadowsLabor 52.8% · Coalition 47.2% TPP (2025)12.7 km away
Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.
ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?
IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.
IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.
A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)