Forreston SA 5233
Forreston sits 40 km from Adelaide CBD in South Australia, around 50 minutes by car. Census data records 407 residents with a median age of 48 and a median household income of $108,108 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 40% nationally. The locality grew 4.9% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $258 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,950. Forreston is characterised by high bushfire risk. Walkability is low.
This locality is too small to rate.
The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 407. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.
How do you rate the liveability in Forreston?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
Not enough data to score this locality.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataThe median house sale price in Forreston sits at $980,000, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only three sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.
$980,000
Based on only 3 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Is Forreston safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Forreston sits in the low band, with 4 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 50% on the prior year.
4 offences
50.0% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20256 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. This state’s crash data does not name the road.
Schools
Walkability
Forreston is very car-dependent on foot — at 4/100, nearly all errands require a car.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Forreston.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 160
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Adelaide Hills: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Forreston is home to 407 residents, with a median age of 48, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $108,000 a year, with unemployment at 2.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
407
Median Age
48
Median Household Income
$108,108/yr
Census Median Rent
$258/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,950/mo
Avg Household Size
2.8
Median Personal Income
$40,560/yr
Unemployment Rate
2.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
14.1%
Total Dwellings
135
Owner-Occupier Rate
90.4%
Houses
102.2%
Rental Stress
12.4%
Mortgage Stress
21.6%
Work From Home
19.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 82.6%
- English Spoken at Home
- 93.1%
- Employment Rate
- 62.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 44.2%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
0 residents (0.0%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
5% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (11 of 216).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,727 a year through Adelaide Hills based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 100%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Adelaide Hills
In the year to August 2026, 95 new dwellings were approved across Adelaide Hills. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are up 53.3% on the same period a year earlier.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 5.5 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 18.7 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.31 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 5 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Elizabeth monitoring station, 22.9 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Lenswood, 18.9 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 364 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 31.3 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 2.3% of addresses
- 5 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 921 mm
- 87 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the locality centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
EV adoption
In postcode 5233, 11 of 1,442 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.1% (16 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.9%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5233, 476 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 583 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 28 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$15,000 for new homes.
No purchase-price cap. Stamp duty is fully exempted for eligible first-home buyers as a separate concession.
Mortgage repayments
Conveyance duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with RevenueSA
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Rebekha Sharkie Centre Alliance
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Rebekha Sharkie | 55.0% | 45.0% | +3.4 |
| 2022 | Rebekha Sharkie | 51.6% | 48.4% | -4.1 |
| 2019 | Rebekha Sharkie | 47.5% | 52.5% | -0.7 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Ashton Hurn Liberal Party
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ashton Hurn LP | 67.4% |
| 2022 | Ashton Hurn LP | 61.9% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2024, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of South Australia.
Looking at a specific address in Forreston?
Every figure above is a locality average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 407 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Checking the whole city?
Suburbs to avoid in Adelaide There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Adelaide suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.Nearby suburbs
Compare Forreston to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other SA suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Forreston
Is Forreston a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Forreston is low (24/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Forreston?
Forreston has a high recorded bushfire history (77/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
What is the population of Forreston?
Forreston, SA had a population of 407 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Forreston, SA?
The postcode for Forreston, SA is 5233.
How far is Forreston from Adelaide?
Forreston is 40 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 50 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Forreston?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Forreston was $108,108 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Forreston?
There are too few current rental listings in Forreston for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $258, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Forreston?
The median age of residents in Forreston was 48 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Forreston at risk of bushfire?
Forreston has a high recorded bushfire history (77/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the locality relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
Is Forreston walkable?
Forreston scores 4/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the air quality in Forreston?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Forreston (Elizabeth) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.5 µg/m³ and PM10 of 18.7 µg/m³. That puts Forreston below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Forreston?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Forreston, Lenswood (18.9 km away), 921 mm of rain a year over 87 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Forreston?
First-home buyers in SA may be eligible for $15,000 towards new homes. The grant is administered by RevenueSA; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Forreston belong to?
Forreston sits within the Adelaide Hills local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Forreston?
The average residential rates bill through Adelaide Hills is $2,727 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Forreston?
Across Adelaide Hills, 95 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 53.3% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Forreston in?
Forreston sits within the federal Division of Mayo, currently held by Rebekha Sharkie (Centre Alliance).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2026
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Air quality · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2026
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.
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