Booleroo Centre vs Melrose
Melrose is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 55 in Booleroo Centre. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Booleroo Centre, about half of households are people living alone. In Melrose, about half of households are couple families.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
Melrose
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Booleroo Centre
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper land ($60,000 vs $231,500)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Booleroo Centre
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (60/100 vs 38/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (265.9 km vs 269.9 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Booleroo Centre
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- is more walkable (60/100 vs 38/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Melrose
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (-1.4% vs -6.6%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Booleroo Centre and Melrose drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Booleroo Centre has more residents (482 vs 342); Booleroo Centre skews older (55 vs 48).
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 482 +29% vs other | 342 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -6.6% | -1.4% |
| Median age | 55 | 48 |
| Median household income | $64,480/yr | $73,632/yr +14% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $180/wk same for both | |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.8%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).
Where residents were born
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $300,000 | $310,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $60,000 | $231,500 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 214 days from 3 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Melrose has more land zoned for conservation (12% vs 0%); Booleroo Centre has more rural and farming land (100% vs 87%).
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 100% | 87% |
| Environmental | 0% | 12% |
| Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09. | ||
Development activity
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 13 across Mount Remarkable same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +200% same for both | |
Ranking within SA
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 32% of SA | Higher than 47% of SA |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 84% of SA | Higher than 77% of SA |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 53% of SA | — |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 45% of SA | Higher than 46% of SA |
Liveability
Booleroo Centre is more walkable (60 vs 38).
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 |
Risk profile
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 55/100 | Moderate 59/100 |
| Crime | Low 20/100 | Low 24/100 |
| Flood | — same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Booleroo Centre
- Booleroo Centre District School Government · Combined at peers
Schools in Melrose
- Melrose Primary School Government · Primary above peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 3 |
| Parks & reserves | 5 same for both | |
| Childcare | 1 same for both | |
| GPs | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 1 |
| Waterways | 5 | 7 |
Mobility
Melrose sits further from the CBD (269.9 km vs 265.9 km).
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 60/100 | 38/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 265.9 km | 269.9 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 183 min | 187 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 5482 | 0.0% postcode 5483 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 66 postcode 5482 | 65 postcode 5483 |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (59.8%).
Setting
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 401 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 384 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 35.5 km | 24.7 km |
NBN connectivity
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 282 premises | 0% 168 premises |
Council rates
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,600/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mount Remarkable same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Grey same for both | |
| Member | Tom Venning same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Booleroo Centre | Melrose | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Booleroo Centre
Other comparisons with Melrose
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.