Northern Heights vs Rocky Gully
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Northern Heights, about half of households are couple families. In Rocky Gully, about half of households are people living alone.
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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Northern Heights carries lower crime risk (64/100 vs 89/100)
- Rocky Gully has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
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
Northern Heights
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (23% vs 10%)
- has cheaper rent ($240/wk vs $275/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Rocky Gully
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (55 min vs 62 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (71.4 km vs 78 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Northern Heights
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has more residents already 65 and over (16% vs 10%)
- carries lower crime risk (64/100 vs 89/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Northern Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (13.4% vs -3.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Northern Heights and Rocky Gully 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
Northern Heights has more residents (305 vs 113); Rocky Gully rents higher ($275/wk vs $240/wk).
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 305 +63% vs other | 113 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +13.4% | -3.4% |
| Median age | 42 | 44 |
| Median household income | $71,968/yr | $71,500/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $240/wk | $275/wk +15% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.7%).
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 (6.2%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $620,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $375,000 | — |
Zoning mix
Rocky Gully has more commercially zoned land (22% vs 0%); Northern Heights has more rural and farming land (77% vs 64%).
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 77% | 64% |
| Commercial | 0% | 22% |
| Environmental | 2% | 14% |
| Residential | 14% | 0% |
| Industrial | 7% | 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
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 274 across Murray Bridge same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +51% same for both | |
Ranking within SA
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 45% of SA | Higher than 42% of SA |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 66% of SA | Higher than 67% of SA |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 31% of SA | Higher than 15% of SA |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 54% of SA | Higher than 71% of SA |
Liveability
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | below-average income decile 2/10 |
Risk profile
Rocky Gully carries more bushfire risk (39 vs 0); Rocky Gully carries more crime risk (89 vs 64).
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Low 39/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 64/100 | High 89/100 |
| Flood | — same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 3 within 5 km | 4 within 5 km |
Schools
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 3 |
| Waterways | 0 | 3 |
Mobility
Northern Heights sits further from the CBD (78 km vs 71.4 km).
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 12/100 | 14/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 78 km +8% vs other | 71.4 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 62 min | 55 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 5253 | 0.1% postcode 5254 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 66 postcode 5253 | 89 postcode 5254 |
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 (82.6%).
Setting
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 30 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 65 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 32/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 121 premises | 0% 65 premises |
Climate
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 337 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 5.7°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,478/yr same for both | |
| Council | Murray Bridge same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Barker same for both | |
| Member | Tony Pasin same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Northern Heights | Rocky Gully | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Northern Heights
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.