Meadows vs Prospect Hill
Meadows is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 47 in Prospect Hill. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Meadows is closer to the city centre: 44.4 km, against 52.1 km. On these figures, Meadows tends to suit families with children.
Meadows is a substantially larger suburb with 1717 residents compared to Prospect Hill's 158, and sits closer to the CBD at 44.4 km versus 52.1 km. Prospect Hill has a higher median household income of $107,692 against Meadows' $102,128, and a slightly higher socio-economic decile rating. Meadows offers more walkability (score of 32 versus 0) and lower bushfire risk (72 versus 81), while Prospect Hill's smaller, older population may appeal to those seeking a quieter, more established community. Weekly rent is notably higher in Meadows at $343 compared to $295 in Prospect Hill.
Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.
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
Meadows
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more parks and reserves (4 vs 1)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Prospect Hill
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($295/wk vs $343/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Meadows
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (32/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (44 min vs 58 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (44.4 km vs 52.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Meadows
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (32/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Meadows
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (25.4% vs -0.6%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Meadows and Prospect Hill 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
Meadows has more residents (1,717 vs 158); Prospect Hill skews older (47 vs 39).
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,717 +91% vs other | 158 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +25.4% | -0.6% |
| Median age | 39 | 47 |
| Median household income | $102,128/yr | $107,692/yr +5% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $343/wk +14% vs other | $295/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.8%).
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 (6.3%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.0%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,000,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $1,300,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 22 days from 15 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 94% | 100% |
| Environmental | 3% | 0% |
| Residential | 2% | 0% |
| 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
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 657 across Mount Barker same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -7% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2.0% $720/wk on $1.84M | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within SA
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 4% of SA | — |
| Income | Higher than 81% of SA | Higher than 85% of SA |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 75% of SA | Higher than 1% of SA |
| Affordability | Higher than 98% of SA | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 75% of SA same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 93% of SA | Higher than 41% of SA |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 1% of SA | — |
Liveability
Meadows is more walkable (32 vs 0).
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 43/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | advantaged area decile 8/10 |
Risk profile
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 72/100 | High 81/100 |
| Crime | Low 20/100 | Low 12/100 |
| 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
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Meadows
- Meadows Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Prospect Hill
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 4 | 1 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 3 | 0 |
Mobility
Prospect Hill sits further from the CBD (52.1 km vs 44.4 km).
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 32/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 44.4 km | 52.1 km +17% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 44 min | 58 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.9% postcode 5201 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 99 postcode 5201 same for both | |
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 (82.4%).
Setting
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 328 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 381 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 25.8 km | 23.8 km |
NBN connectivity
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 81/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 73% 796 premises | 0% 62 premises |
Climate
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 730 mm | 466 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 27.8°C | — |
| Winter min (Jul) | 5.7°C | — |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | — same for both | |
| PM10 | 19.5 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.34 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,485/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mount Barker same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Mayo same for both | |
| Member | Rebekha Sharkie same for both | |
| Party | Centre Alliance same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Meadows | Prospect Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Meadows
Other comparisons with Prospect Hill
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.