Laura SA 5480
Laura sits 224 km from Adelaide CBD in South Australia, around 2 hours 30 minutes by car. Census data records 765 residents with a median age of 48 and a median household income of $54,184 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 16.3% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $200 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $892. The area shows high bushfire risk. All 1 school within the locality boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is moderate.
Is Laura a good place to live?
Laura scores a D (33/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade.
Mixed results
1 school · 1 above peer schools
Some car dependence
Walkability 43/100 · 224.5 km · 150 min drive to Adelaide
Median available
Median $370K
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 70/100 · Crime 18/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 48 · 765 residents
Liveability Rating
33 / 100 · Ranked #430 in SAEach bar is Laura's rank among SA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Laura?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
33 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataLaura's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $370,000, roughly 38% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$370,000
Based on 23 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 93 days — median across 5 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $300K
- 3 bed 9 sales $306K
Land
$100,000
Based on only 7 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Is Laura safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Laura sits in the low band, with 7 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 17% on the prior year.
7 offences
16.7% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20252 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
One school serve Laura, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Laura Primary School leads the pack.
- • 62 students in one school (avg 62)
Primary
Walkability
Laura is car-dependent on foot — at 43/100, most errands require a car.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Laura.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 386
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
Northern Areas: 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
Laura is home to 765 residents, with a median age of 48, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $54,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.1%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
765
Median Age
48
Median Household Income
$54,184/yr
Census Median Rent
$200/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$892/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$30,368/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.1%
Unoccupied Dwellings
20.3%
Total Dwellings
310
Owner-Occupier Rate
76.5%
Houses
93.9%
Rental Stress
19.2%
Mortgage Stress
19.8%
Work From Home
16.4%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
10 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 6 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 69 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 85.9%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.1%
- Employment Rate
- 51%
- Completed Year 12
- 30.7%
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.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
4.9% of residents (35) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Adelaide (32).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 713 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (3 of 316).
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 $1,809 a year through Northern Areas based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 98%
- Zones under 1% 2%
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: Northern Areas
In the year to August 2026, 11 new dwellings were approved across Northern Areas. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are down 100.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Air Quality
This station does not measure fine particles (PM2.5).
PM10 averaged 23.7 µg/m³. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 17.
From the Port Pirie, Oliver Street monitoring station, 26.2 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Georgetown, 21.1 kmDry climate.
- Elevation
- 252 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 24.7 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 2.6% of addresses
- 17 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 472 mm
- 68 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.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
1 facility within 5 km- 0.7 kmIce Cream ManufacturingTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 5480, 0 of 960 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.8% (17 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.8%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5480, 321 rooftop-solar systems totalling 1.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 432 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 9 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 Tom Venning Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Tom Venning | 45.4% | 54.6% | +5.4 |
| 2022 | Rowan Ramsey | 39.9% | 60.1% | -3.2 |
| 2019 | Rowan Ramsey | 36.7% | 63.3% | +5.6 |
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 Geoff Brock Independent
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Geoff Brock IND | 56.9% |
| 2022 | Geoff Brock IND | 67.1% |
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 Laura?
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 765 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.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Laura 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 Laura
Is Laura a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Laura is low (18/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Laura?
Laura has a high recorded bushfire history (70/100, 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.
Is Laura a good place to live?
Laura has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (33/100), ranked against other SA suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Laura?
Laura, SA had a population of 765 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Laura, SA?
The postcode for Laura, SA is 5480.
How far is Laura from Adelaide?
Laura is 224 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 150 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Laura?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Laura was $54,184 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 Laura?
There are too few current rental listings in Laura for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $200, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Laura?
The median age of residents in Laura was 48 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Laura at risk of bushfire?
Laura has a high recorded bushfire history (70/100). 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.
How are the schools in Laura?
There is 1 school inside the Laura boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Laura walkable?
Laura scores 43/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it 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 weather like in Laura?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Laura, Georgetown (21.1 km away), 472 mm of rain a year over 68 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Laura?
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 Laura belong to?
Laura sits within the Northern Areas local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Laura?
The average residential rates bill through Northern Areas is $1,809 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Laura?
Across Northern Areas, 11 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 100.0% 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 Laura in?
Laura sits within the federal Division of Grey, currently held by Tom Venning (Liberal).
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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.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.