Moculta vs Penrice

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Penrice, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Moculta: a median of $688,000, against $628,000 in Penrice, though rent is higher in Penrice. On these figures, Moculta tends to suit people living alone, while Penrice suits 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

Too close to call

Nothing among the 6 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Moculta

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($260/wk vs $350/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Penrice

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (88.3 km vs 94.5 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Too close to call

Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Penrice

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (12.0% vs 0.4%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Moculta and Penrice drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Moculta Penrice
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Moculta Penrice
Walkability 10 / 11
Moculta — Walkability: 10/100 Penrice — Walkability: 11/100
Safety 89 / 90
Moculta — Safety: 89/100 Penrice — Safety: 90/100
Low fire risk 52 / 65
Moculta — Low fire risk: 52/100 Penrice — Low fire risk: 65/100

Demographics

Penrice has more residents (486 vs 228); Penrice rents higher ($350/wk vs $260/wk).

Moculta Penrice
Population 228 486
+113% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +0.4% +12.0%
Median age 45 43
Median household income $79,040/yr $104,468/yr
+32% vs other
Median weekly rent $260/wk $350/wk
+35% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Moculta Penrice
0-4 4.4% / 5.8%
Moculta — 0-4: 4.4% Penrice — 0-4: 5.8%
5-14 11.4% / 11.9%
Moculta — 5-14: 11.4% Penrice — 5-14: 11.9%
15-19 8.8% / 7.6%
Moculta — 15-19: 8.8% Penrice — 15-19: 7.6%
20-24 4.4% / 5.3%
Moculta — 20-24: 4.4% Penrice — 20-24: 5.3%
25-34 7.5% / 10.3%
Moculta — 25-34: 7.5% Penrice — 25-34: 10.3%
35-44 13.2% / 11.7%
Moculta — 35-44: 13.2% Penrice — 35-44: 11.7%
45-54 13.2% / 15.2%
Moculta — 45-54: 13.2% Penrice — 45-54: 15.2%
55-64 17.5% / 15.4%
Moculta — 55-64: 17.5% Penrice — 55-64: 15.4%
65-74 13.2% / 10.3%
Moculta — 65-74: 13.2% Penrice — 65-74: 10.3%
75-84 4.4% / 4.9%
Moculta — 75-84: 4.4% Penrice — 75-84: 4.9%
85+ — / 1.2%
Moculta — 85+: not among its largest Penrice — 85+: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Moculta 42.9% couple families
Moculta — Couple Families: 42.9% Moculta — Lone Person: 32.1% Moculta — One Parent Families: 17.9% Moculta — Group Household: 7.1%
Penrice 60.0% couple families
Penrice — Couple Families: 60.0% Penrice — Lone Person: 23.3% Penrice — One Parent Families: 8.3% Penrice — Group Household: 8.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Moculta 9.6% renting
Moculta — Owned Outright: 50.6% Moculta — Mortgage: 39.8% Moculta — Renting: 9.6%
Penrice 10.3% renting
Penrice — Owned Outright: 44.2% Penrice — Mortgage: 45.5% Penrice — Renting: 10.3%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Moculta Penrice
England 3.5% / 3.5%
Moculta — England: 3.5% Penrice — England: 3.5%
South Africa 2.6% / —
Moculta — South Africa: 2.6% Penrice — South Africa: not among its largest
New Zealand 1.3% / 0.6%
Moculta — New Zealand: 1.3% Penrice — New Zealand: 0.6%
Italy — / 1.0%
Moculta — Italy: not among its largest Penrice — Italy: 1.0%
Scotland — / 0.8%
Moculta — Scotland: not among its largest Penrice — Scotland: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.5%).

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Moculta Penrice
Certificate III & IV 16.7% / 16.7%
Moculta — Certificate III & IV: 16.7% Penrice — Certificate III & IV: 16.7%
Bachelor Degree 8.8% / 7.8%
Moculta — Bachelor Degree: 8.8% Penrice — Bachelor Degree: 7.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 2.6% / 7.6%
Moculta — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 2.6% Penrice — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6%
Postgraduate Degree 2.6% / 3.1%
Moculta — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6% Penrice — Postgraduate Degree: 3.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.2% / 2.1%
Moculta — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2% Penrice — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Moculta 100.0% houses
Moculta — Houses: 100.0%
Penrice 100.0% houses
Penrice — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Property market

Moculta Penrice
Median house price $687,500 $627,500
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Moculta has more rural and farming land (97% vs 86%); Penrice has more industrially zoned land (12% vs 2%).

Moculta Penrice
Rural and farming 97% 86%
Industrial 2% 12%
Residential 1% 2%
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

Moculta Penrice
New dwellings approved 180
across Barossa
same for both
Approvals change year on year -48%
same for both

Ranking within SA

Moculta Penrice
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 54% of SA Higher than 83% of SA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 62% of SA Higher than 66% of SA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 40% of SA
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 41% of SA Higher than 74% of SA

Liveability

Moculta Penrice
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Moculta carries more bushfire risk (48 vs 35).

Moculta Penrice
Bushfire Moderate
48/100
 Low
35/100
Crime Low
11/100
 Low
10/100
Flood —
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
 6
within 5 km

Schools

Moculta Penrice
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Amenities in the suburb

Moculta Penrice
Childcare 0 1
Waterways 1 2

Mobility

Moculta sits further from the CBD (94.5 km vs 88.3 km).

Moculta Penrice
Walkability score 10/100 11/100
Distance to Adelaide 94.5 km
+7% vs other
 88.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 74 min 72 min
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 5353
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 67
postcode 5353
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.

Moculta Penrice
Car (driver) 77.0% / 84.9%
Moculta — Car (driver): 77.0% Penrice — Car (driver): 84.9%
Worked from Home 13.3% / 8.4%
Moculta — Worked from Home: 13.3% Penrice — Worked from Home: 8.4%
Car (passenger) 5.3% / 4.6%
Moculta — Car (passenger): 5.3% Penrice — Car (passenger): 4.6%
Walked Only 4.4% / 2.1%
Moculta — Walked Only: 4.4% Penrice — Walked Only: 2.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (84.9%).

Setting

Moculta Penrice
Elevation 382 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 359 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Moculta Penrice
Connectivity score 28/100 46/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
96 premises
 12%
191 premises

Climate

Moculta Penrice
Annual rainfall 460 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Moculta Penrice
Average residential rate $2,247/yr
same for both
Council Barossa
same for both

Federal electorate

Moculta Penrice
Division Barker
same for both
Member Tony Pasin
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Moculta Penrice
Grant amount $15,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Moculta

Rural

Penrice

Acreage

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Moculta

Moculta vs Angaston Moculta vs Truro Moculta vs Stockwell Moculta vs Keyneton

Other comparisons with Penrice

Penrice vs Angaston Penrice vs Stockwell Penrice vs Light Pass
Full data on Moculta Full data on Penrice
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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.

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