Mount Barker vs Mount Barker Summit
Mount Barker is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 50 in Mount Barker Summit. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Mount Barker Summit, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Mount Barker Summit: a median of $1.15 million, against $821,000 in Mount Barker. Mount Barker is closer to the city centre: 34.3 km, against 41 km. On these figures, Mount Barker tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget.
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
Mount Barker
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more childcare (18 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (8 vs 0)
- has more parks and reserves (8 vs 0)
- But Mount Barker Summit carries lower crime risk (41/100 vs 59/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Mount Barker
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 37%)
- has cheaper houses ($821,250 vs $1,150,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Mount Barker
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (70/100 vs 4/100)
- has a shorter drive in (33 min vs 46 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (34.3 km vs 41 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Mount Barker is more walkable (70/100 vs 4/100)
- Mount Barker Summit carries lower crime risk (41/100 vs 59/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Mount Barker
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (32.4% vs -2.0%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Mount Barker and Mount Barker Summit 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
Mount Barker has more residents (18,330 vs 100); Mount Barker Summit skews older (50 vs 36).
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 18,330 +99% vs other | 100 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +32.4% | -2.0% |
| Median age | 36 | 50 |
| Median household income | $84,448/yr | $84,500/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $350/wk +4% vs other | $335/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.0%).
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 (18.0%).
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 (6.0%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $821,250 | $1,150,000 |
| Median unit price | $590,000 | — |
| Median land price | $730,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 27 days from 421 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Mount Barker Summit has more rural and farming land (92% vs 38%).
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 38% | 92% |
| Residential | 53% | 0% |
| Environmental | 1% | 8% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 4% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 2% | 0% |
| Industrial | 1% | 0% |
| Commercial | 1% | 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
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 657 across Mount Barker same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -7% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.1% $640/wk on $815K | — |
| Units | 6.0% $625/wk on $545K | — |
Ranking within SA
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 3% of SA | — |
| Income | Higher than 59% of SA | Higher than 62% of SA |
| Schools | Higher than 9% of SA | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 88% of SA | Higher than 59% of SA |
| Affordability | Higher than 95% of SA | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 80% of SA same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 92% of SA | Higher than 63% of SA |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 63% of SA | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 97% of SA | — |
Liveability
Mount Barker is more walkable (70 vs 4).
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 34/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Mount Barker carries more bushfire risk (53 vs 0); Mount Barker carries more crime risk (59 vs 41).
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 53/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 59/100 | Moderate 41/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 54/100 | — |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 4 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 8 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 3 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 4 | 0 |
Schools in Mount Barker
- Cornerstone College Independent · Secondary at peers
- Mount Barker High School Government · Secondary at peers
- St Francis de Sales College Catholic · Combined at peers
- Mount Barker Primary School Government · Primary below peers
- Mount Barker South Primary School Government · Primary below peers
- Mount Barker Waldorf School Independent · Combined below peers
Schools in Mount Barker Summit
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 6 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 17 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 8 | 0 |
| Childcare | 18 | 0 |
| GPs | 9 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 7 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 10 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 5 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 4 | 0 |
Mobility
Mount Barker Summit sits further from the CBD (41 km vs 34.3 km).
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 70/100 | 4/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 34.3 km | 41 km +20% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 33 min | 46 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.1% postcode 5251 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 82 postcode 5251 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 (76.0%).
Setting
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 328 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 452 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 32.0 km | 37.1 km |
NBN connectivity
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 79/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 61% 10,696 premises | 0% 45 premises |
Climate
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 730 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 27.8°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 5.7°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,485/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mount Barker same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Mayo same for both | |
| Member | Rebekha Sharkie same for both | |
| Party | Centre Alliance same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Mount Barker | Mount Barker Summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Mount Barker
Other comparisons with Mount Barker Summit
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.