suburb.guide

SA · Wattle Range Council

Thornlea, 5280

Est. population · Jun 2025

49

Growth (1 yr)

+2.1%

Growth (5 yr)

+6.5%

Median age

37

Median income

$1,968/wk

Employment rate

86.1%

University qualified

17.9%

Work from home

37.9%

Languages at home

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

  • Agricultural
  • Rural living
What Thornlea is known for: Agricultural, Rural living

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Thornlea, SA suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

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Suburb Guide, “Thornlea, SA Suburb Guide”, updated 16 September 2026, https://suburb.guide/sa/thornlea

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Suburb profile

Thornlea is a rural locality in South Australia, in Wattle Range Council. It is set against the Wattle Range.

Employment is a strong feature of the suburb, with employment 41% above the peer median. Local amenities are a relative strength, with local amenities 100% above the peer median. Recorded road-crash rates are lower than in comparable places, with recorded road crashes 100% below the peer median, and university qualifications are more common than in comparable places, well above typical levels for rural localities, and working from home is more common than in comparable places, and population has been growing faster than in comparable places.

Thornlea is a better fit for people who value employment and university qualifications.

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

  • Employment is a relative strength
  • Recorded road-crash rates are lower than in comparable places
  • University qualifications are more common than in comparable places
  • Working from home is more common than in comparable places
  • Population has been growing faster than in comparable places
  • Local amenities are a relative strength

Weaknesses

No relative weaknesses against comparable places.

What stands out

  • Wattle Range

Who it suits

  • StudentsInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How Thornlea compares

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

—

No data available

Median rent (Census)

$180/wk

2021 Census median weekly rent

Population (ERP)

49

+2.1% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

25.9%

Census unoccupied dwellings

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Pop. growth

94th

percentile in SA

Rented dwellings

0%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

5/10

national SEIFA decile

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

Population

Estimated resident population

49(June 2025)

+2.1% annual · +6.5% over 5 years · 94th percentile in SA

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+2.1%
5-year growth
+6.5%
Change in 1 year
+1
Change in 5 years
+3
Growth rank in SA
94th 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 (~50), extrapolated at +0.9% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
46
Median age
37
Median household income / week
$1,968
Dwelling vacancy
25.9%
Unoccupied private dwellings
7 of 27
Median monthly mortgage
$975
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$180
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
68.8% / 31.2% / 0%
Employment rate
86.1%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
37.9% / 0% / 51.7%
Walked or cycled to work
13.8%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
17 / 0 / 0

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.

  • Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Qualifications

17.9% of adults have a university degree, compared with 22.6% across South Australia. 17.9% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified17.9% · 22.6% SA
  • Diploma qualified10.3% · 8.6% SA
  • Trade / vocational17.9% · 17.5% SA
  • Year 12 or below53.8% · 51.2% SA

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Agriculture and environment30%
  • Engineering and related technologies25%
  • Education15%
  • Health15%
  • Society and culture15%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 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)
$48,108

21st percentile in SA · -18% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$52,729

30th percentile in SA · -19% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
11.0%

32nd percentile in SA · -20% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$80,449

54th percentile in SA · +27% vs Australia

Residents with business income
9.0%

27th percentile in SA · -13% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 5280 — 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
4,397
Taxpayers reporting net rent
503
Median net rent
$898
Taxpayers reporting business income
374
Taxable income vs state median
-11%
Salary / wages vs state median
-8%
Rental investment vs state median
-8%
Super vs state median
+3%
Business income vs state median
-18%

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

75.9% of employed residents work in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 33.0× the Australian share (2.3%) — compared with 3.8% across South Australia.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing
75.9%

98th percentile in SA · +3200% vs Australia

Resident workers (2021)
22
WHM specified work
Subclass 417 / 462

Postcode 5280

Occupation mix in this industry

2021 Census G56, residents employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Counts below 10 are not shown.

  • Managers15

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 5280 (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: 29 · AFF share +1897% 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

6.1% born overseas

Language at home
46 English only · 0 other
Non-English at home
0%
Born overseas
3 (6.1%)
Australian citizens
47

Religion

76.1%No religion

No religion is the most common response at 76.1%.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion76.1%45.2%
Other / not stated23.9%54.8%

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

Offence counts & rates
Recorded road crashes (in suburb)
0
Crash rate per 1,000 residents (state rank)
0

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

Family & Lifestyle

Amenities

2 mapped amenities

1 campgrounds

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
Walkability proxy
0/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
0
Sport & outdoors(1)
  • Belt Hill Conservation ParkNature reserve
Camping & holiday parks(1)
  • Drain M Rest AreaCampground

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
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
0%
Woodland / forest cover
0%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
0
Parks (OSM)
0
Typical summer maximum
23°C

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

Nearest hospital
Millicent and Districts Hospital and Health Service (24.6 km)
Nearest hospital type
Public Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
GP clinics in suburb
0

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
1
Participants per 1,000 residents
20.4

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.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

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
23° / 13°
Rainfall
80 mm · ~10 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
19° / 11°
Rainfall
172 mm · ~22 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
14° / 8°
Rainfall
350 mm · ~44 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
17° / 9°
Rainfall
181 mm · ~23 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Planning & development

Development applications from PlanSA register and EPA licensed activities.

2026· 1 proposal

  • August 2026

  • Agricultural Building (Machinery shed) Agricultural Building (Fodder shed)
    648 BEACHPORT-FURNER RD THORNLEA SA 5280Under Assessment
2025· 1 proposal

  • June 2025

  • Building Alteration and construction of a new Agricultural Building.
    LOT 100 STUCKEY LANE THORNLEA SA 5280Decision Made
2022· 2 proposals

  • April 2022

  • New 24m x 24m Machinery Shed (agricultural building)
    1518 BEACHPORT-PENOLA RD THORNLEA SA 5280Decision Made

  • February 2022

  • Extension to Agricultural Building
    70 KEMPS RD THORNLEA SA 5280Decision Made
2021· 1 proposal

  • September 2021

  • Farm building
    LOT 148 WIRE PADDOCK RD THORNLEA SA 5280Decision Made

Data sources & freshness

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
Overlay applies
Flood / inundation overlay
100% of suburb boundary

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.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Barker
Member of Parliament
Tony PASIN (Liberal)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
127,045
Turnout (2025)
92.6%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+3.6 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 63.0%Labor 37.0%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 38.5 km away).

Coalition 71.4%Labor 28.6%

8.4 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +0.8 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • FurnerLabor 12.8% · Coalition 87.2% TPP (2025)13.4 km away
  • RendelshamLabor 30.7% · Coalition 69.3% TPP (2025)14.6 km away
  • SouthendLabor 25.0% · Coalition 75.0% TPP (2025)16.7 km away
  • BeachportLabor 34.8% · Coalition 65.2% TPP (2025)16.8 km away
  • MillicentLabor 39.3% · Coalition 60.7% TPP (2025)23.9 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.

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
5/10
IRSD decile (2021)
5/10

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%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

More in Wattle Range Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.