Penrice vs Light Pass
Penrice is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 49 in Light Pass. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Light Pass tends to suit 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
Penrice
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (10/100 vs 22/100)
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
Light Pass
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $350/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Light Pass
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (62 min vs 72 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (84.1 km vs 88.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Penrice
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (10/100 vs 22/100)
Weighs 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
Penrice and Light Pass 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
Penrice has more residents (486 vs 256); Penrice rents higher ($350/wk vs $250/wk).
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 486 +47% vs other | 256 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +12.0% | +8.5% |
| Median age | 43 | 49 |
| Median household income | $104,468/yr +21% vs other | $82,836/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $350/wk +29% vs other | $250/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.0%).
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 (16.7%).
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 (3.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $627,500 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Light Pass has more rural and farming land (99% vs 86%); Penrice has more industrially zoned land (12% vs 0%).
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 86% | 99% |
| Industrial | 12% | 0% |
| Residential | 2% | 1% |
| 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
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 180 across Barossa same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -48% same for both | |
Ranking within SA
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 83% of SA | — |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 66% of SA | Higher than 70% of SA |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 40% of SA | Higher than 62% of SA |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 74% of SA | Higher than 55% of SA |
Liveability
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | advantaged area decile 7/10 |
Risk profile
Light Pass carries more crime risk (22 vs 10); Penrice carries more bushfire risk (35 vs 24).
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 35/100 | Low 24/100 |
| Crime | Low 10/100 | Low 22/100 |
| Flood | — | Low 34/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 6 within 5 km | 15 within 5 km |
Schools
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Penrice
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Light Pass
- Light Pass Primary School Government · Primary at peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 2 same for both | |
Mobility
Penrice sits further from the CBD (88.3 km vs 84.1 km).
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 11/100 | 17/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 88.3 km +5% vs other | 84.1 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 72 min | 62 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 5353 | 0.7% postcode 5355 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 67 postcode 5353 | 75 postcode 5355 |
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 (84.9%).
Setting
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 359 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 283 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 46/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 12% 191 premises | 0% 111 premises |
Climate
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 460 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,247/yr same for both | |
| Council | Barossa same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Barker same for both | |
| Member | Tony Pasin same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Penrice | Light Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Penrice
Other comparisons with Light Pass
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.