South Australia suburbs people moved to from the city

Mount Compass tops the ranking: 22.3% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Adelaide. Freeling and Hindmarsh Island follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 80 eligible South Australia suburbs.

This page ranks South Australia suburbs by the share of residents aged five and over who lived in a capital city five years before the 2021 Census. Suburbs inside the capitals are not ranked, and only suburbs with at least 1,000 residents qualify.

These are the places people from the capitals moved to between 2016 and 2021, and each row names the capital most of them came from. It counts arrivals only: people who moved the other way are not in it, so a suburb near the top is not necessarily growing. Not every move is a sea change or a tree change: mining towns and Defence bases rank high because jobs bring people there. The Central Coast is part of Greater Sydney in the ABS geography; we count it as a place of its own, so moves from the Central Coast are not moves from Sydney. Source: ABS 2021 Census, via TableBuilder.

South Australia suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city

Ranked by the share of residents aged five and over who lived in a capital city five years before the 2021 Census, among suburbs outside the capitals with at least 1,000 residents. It counts arrivals only: people who moved the other way are not in it.

1

Mount Compass

SA 5210 · 1,580 residents

22.3% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 331 residents

B 100.0
2

Freeling

SA 5372 · 2,688 residents

21.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 546 residents

C 98.7
3

Hindmarsh Island

SA 5214 · 1,846 residents

20.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 363 residents

C 97.5
4

Goolwa North

SA 5214 · 1,307 residents

17.3% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 221 residents

C 96.2
5

Goolwa South

SA 5214 · 1,041 residents

16.8% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 170 residents

C 94.9
6

Normanville

SA 5204 · 1,965 residents

16.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 315 residents

C 93.7
7

Strathalbyn

SA 5255 · 7,246 residents

15.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 1,094 residents

C 92.4
8

Williamstown

SA 5351 · 2,981 residents

15.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 445 residents

C 91.1
9

Middleton

SA 5213 · 1,298 residents

15.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 196 residents

B 89.9
10

Encounter Bay

SA 5211 · 5,305 residents

15.1% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 782 residents

C 88.6
11

Lyndoch

SA 5351 · 2,151 residents

15.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 306 residents

B 87.3
12

Roxby Downs

SA 5725 · 3,671 residents

14.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 485 residents

B 86.1
13

Port Elliot

SA 5212 · 2,251 residents

14.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 312 residents

B 84.8
14

Goolwa Beach

SA 5214 · 2,222 residents

14.3% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 307 residents

C 83.5
15

McCracken

SA 5211 · 2,076 residents

14.1% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Adelaide · 285 residents

C 82.3

Ranked from 80 qualifying suburbs.

How we ranked these

100% share of residents aged five and over who lived in one of the eight capital cities five years before the 2021 Census, percentile-ranked within South Australia's candidate pool. Suburbs that touch a capital's statistical area are not ranked, because the count for their own area includes people who never moved. The Central Coast counts as a place of its own, not as Sydney. Only suburbs with at least 1,000 residents qualify, and the larger number of arrivals breaks ties. It counts arrivals, not net migration. Source: ABS 2021 Census, via TableBuilder; the ABS adjusts small counts slightly to protect privacy. See how we calculate for the full methodology.

Common questions about this ranking

What are the south Australia suburbs people moved to from the city?

Mount Compass tops the ranking: 22.3% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Adelaide. Freeling and Hindmarsh Island follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 80 eligible South Australia suburbs.

How is this ranking put together?

Each South Australia suburb is ranked by the share of its residents aged five and over who lived in one of the eight capital cities five years before the 2021 Census. Suburbs inside the capitals are not ranked, and only suburbs with at least 1,000 residents are included.

Does this show where people are leaving?

No. It counts people who arrived from a capital, not people who left the suburb. A place near the top can have lost as many residents as it gained, so it is not a measure of growth.

Why are some suburbs near a capital missing?

A suburb that touches a capital's statistical area is left out: the Census count for its own area includes people who never moved, so a share would overstate the arrivals.

How current is it?

It covers moves between August 2016 and August 2021, from the 2021 Census, the most recent available until results from the August 2026 Census are released in 2027.

Same list in other states

Related

Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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