Golden Heights vs Waikerie
In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Golden Heights tends to suit families with children and couples.
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
Golden Heights
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (13/100 vs 68/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (54% vs 43%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (97% vs 86%)
- But Waikerie has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Golden Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 24%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Golden Heights
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 21%)
- has cheaper rent ($175/wk vs $200/wk)
- But Waikerie has a bigger rental market to choose from (31% vs 12%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Golden Heights sits closer to the CBD (176.8 km vs 181.6 km)
- Waikerie is more walkable (75/100 vs 15/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Waikerie
ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (14% vs 3%)
- is more walkable (75/100 vs 15/100)
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- But Golden Heights carries lower crime risk (13/100 vs 68/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Golden Heights and Waikerie 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
Waikerie has more residents (2,681 vs 271); Golden Heights has higher household incomes ($62,816 vs $49,608).
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 271 | 2,681 +889% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +0.7% | -0.1% |
| Median age | 47 | 49 |
| Median household income | $62,816/yr +21% vs other | $49,608/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $175/wk | $200/wk +14% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (3.2%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.0%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $380,000 | $411,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $242,950 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 58 days from 32 sales |
Zoning mix
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 100% | 91% |
| Environmental | 0% | 5% |
| Residential | 0% | 3% |
| 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
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 46 across Loxton Waikerie same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -30% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 4.5% $462/wk on $529K |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within SA
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 31% of SA | Higher than 15% of SA |
| Schools | — | Higher than 70% of SA |
| Walkability | Higher than 69% of SA | Higher than 90% of SA |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | — | Higher than 12% of SA |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 70% of SA | Higher than 75% of SA |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 89% of SA |
Liveability
Waikerie is more walkable (75 vs 15).
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | B |
| Score | — | 50/100 |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Waikerie carries more crime risk (68 vs 13).
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 13/100 | Moderate 68/100 |
| 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 | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 3 |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated at peers | 0 | 2 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Golden Heights
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Waikerie
- Waikerie High School Government · Secondary above peers
- Waikerie Lutheran Primary School Independent · Primary at peers
- Waikerie Primary School Government · Primary at peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 0 | 2 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 4 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 same for both | |
| Childcare | 0 | 3 |
| GPs | 0 | 2 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 2 |
| Hospitals | 0 | 1 |
| Police stations | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 3 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 2 |
| EV chargers | 0 | 2 |
| Waterways | 0 | 2 |
Mobility
Waikerie sits further from the CBD (181.6 km vs 176.8 km).
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 15/100 | 75/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 176.8 km | 181.6 km +3% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 119 min | 123 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 5322 | 0.1% postcode 5330 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 67 postcode 5322 | 71 postcode 5330 |
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 (78.9%).
Setting
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 61 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 51 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 53/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 121 premises | 26% 1,630 premises |
Council rates
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,871/yr same for both | |
| Council | Loxton Waikerie same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Barker same for both | |
| Member | Tony Pasin same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Golden Heights | Waikerie | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Golden Heights
Waikerie
More comparisons
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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.