Mount Barker is a suburb in South Australia, 34 km from Adelaide CBD, around 33 minutes by car. Population is 18,330; the median age is 36 and the median household income is $84,448 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The suburb grew 32.4% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $350 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,603. 8 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Mount Barker a good suburb?
Mount Barker scores a C (34/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and prices, weaker on schools.
Below the state average
8 schools · Bottom 9% in SA
Very walkable
Walkability 70/100 · 34.3 km · 33 min drive to Adelaide
More affordable than most
Median $821K · More affordable than 95% of SA
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 53/100 · Crime 59/100 · Flood 54/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 36 · 18,330 residents
Liveability Rating
34 / 100 · Ranked #424 in SAEach bar is Mount Barker's rank among SA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Mount Barker?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
34 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataMount Barker's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $821,000, roughly 11% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$821,250
8% below its 4 neighbours (median $895,000)
Based on 664 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 27 days — median across 421 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 21 sales $605K
- 3 bed 311 sales $740K
- 4 bed 266 sales $900K
- 5 bed 44 sales $1.08M
Land
$730,000
Based on 83 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 26 days — median across 42 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Mount Barker are currently listed at around $815,000 on average. Based on 222 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$815K
222 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$545K
4 units listed in the last 6 months.
226 of the suburb's 7,032 dwellings (3.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Mount Barker rent for around $640 a week on average, based on 174 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$640/wk
174 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$625/wk
4 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
178 rentals advertised against an estimated 2,166 rented homes (8.2%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Apr–Jun 2026- 3-bed houses
- $590/wk
- 105 bonds
- +47% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 202599 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 30% of its income on the median rent in postcode 5251.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$640/week ($33,000 a year) on a $815,000 median
$625/week ($32,000 a year) on a $545,000 median
Based on a small sample (4 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Is Mount Barker safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Mount Barker sits in the moderate band, with 660 incidents recorded in 2026 — up about 1% on the prior year.
660 offences
1.2% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202512 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. This state’s crash data does not name the road.
Schools
Eight schools serve Mount Barker, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 4,259 students across 7 schools (avg 608)
- • Sectors: 4 Independent, 3 Government, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 1010-1094, median 1051 (above the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Mount Barker High School (1,061 students)
Primary
Secondary
Combined
Walkability
Mount Barker is very walkable on foot — at 70/100, most daily errands can be done on foot. Within the suburb there are 6 supermarkets, 8 parks and 17 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Mount Barker.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 207.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 130.3 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 53.1 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 20.1 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Mount Barker.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 61%
- Premises covered
- 10,696
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
Mount Barker: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 44 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 9 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Mount Barker is home to about 18,300 residents, with a median age of 36, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $84,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
18,330
Median Age
36
Median Household Income
$84,448/yr
Census Median Rent
$350/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,603/mo
Avg Household Size
2.5
Median Personal Income
$42,380/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
6.8%
Total Dwellings
7,032
Owner-Occupier Rate
69.2%
Houses
91.2%
Rental Stress
21.6%
Mortgage Stress
22.8%
Work From Home
12.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
278 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 75 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 2,063 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 79.6%
- English Spoken at Home
- 89.3%
- Employment Rate
- 63%
- Completed Year 12
- 45.1%
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.
388 residents (2.1%) 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.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 17,083 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
14% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (1,299 of 9,259).
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.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 7,528 people work here; 9,259 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.8 per resident). At least 19% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,485 a year through Mount Barker based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 53%
- Rural and farming 38%
- Infrastructure and transport 4%
- Parks and recreation 2%
- Industrial 1%
- Commercial 1%
- Zones under 1% 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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Mount Barker
In the year to August 2026, 657 new dwellings were approved across Mount Barker. That mix is 575 houses and 82 units. Approvals are down 7.2% on the same period a year earlier.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 6 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³).
PM10 averaged 17.8 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 1.12 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 0 · NO₂ 0.
From the Adelaide CBD monitoring station, 29.3 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Mount Barker, 1.8 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 328 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 32.0 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 2.5% of addresses
- 337 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 730 mm
- 100 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 27.8°C
- 16 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 5.7°C
- 4 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the suburb 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
4 facilities within 5 km- 1.3 km
- 1.5 kmIndustrial Gas ManufacturingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 1.7 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
- 3.1 kmClay Brick ManufacturingTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Fluoride compounds
EV adoption
In postcode 5251, 199 of 17,583 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.9% (680 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5251, 6,450 rooftop-solar systems totalling 49.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 7,844 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 594 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
10 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb.
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 2026-10-26 — 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 suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Matt Schultz Independent
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Matt Schultz IND | 60.6% |
| 2022 | Dan Cregan IND | 75.5% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2024, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of South Australia.
Looking at a specific address in Mount Barker?
Every figure above is a suburb 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 18,330 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.
Featured in
- #1 in Adelaide suburbs that added the most residents, 2016-2021
- #3 in Adelaide suburbs with the fastest EV adoption growth
- #3 in Adelaide suburbs with the most rooftop solar
- #4 in Where the South African community lives in Adelaide
- #9 in Adelaide suburbs that grew fastest, 2016-2021
- #9 in Best Adelaide suburbs for first-home buyers (houses)
- #12 in Best Adelaide suburbs for good private high schools
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
Nairne SA 5252
Littlehampton SA 5250
Hahndorf SA 5245
Echunga SA 5153
Blakiston SA 5250
Bugle Ranges SA 5251
Compare Mount Barker 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 Mount Barker
Is Mount Barker a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Mount Barker is moderate (59/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Mount Barker?
Mount Barker has a moderate recorded bushfire history (53/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a moderate share of it (54/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Mount Barker a good place to live?
Mount Barker has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (34/100), 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 Mount Barker?
Mount Barker, SA had a population of 18,330 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Mount Barker, SA?
The postcode for Mount Barker, SA is 5251.
How far is Mount Barker from Adelaide?
Mount Barker is 34 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 33 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Mount Barker?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Mount Barker was $84,448 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 Mount Barker?
The median advertised rent in Mount Barker is $640 a week for houses (174 listings) and $625 a week for units (4 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Mount Barker?
The median age of residents in Mount Barker was 36 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Mount Barker at risk of bushfire?
Mount Barker has a moderate recorded bushfire history (53/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb 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 Mount Barker?
There are 8 schools inside the Mount Barker boundary: 3 at and 4 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Mount Barker walkable?
Mount Barker scores 70/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very walkable. 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 Mount Barker?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Mount Barker (Adelaide CBD) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.0 µg/m³ and PM10 of 17.8 µg/m³. That puts Mount Barker 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 Mount Barker?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Mount Barker, Mount Barker (1.8 km away), summer days average 27.8°C, winter nights 5.7°C, 730 mm of rain a year over 100 rainy days, and 16 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Mount Barker?
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 Mount Barker belong to?
Mount Barker sits within the Mount Barker local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Mount Barker?
The average residential rates bill through Mount Barker is $2,485 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Mount Barker?
Across Mount Barker, 657 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 7.2% 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 Mount Barker in?
Mount Barker sits within the federal Division of Mayo, currently held by Rebekha Sharkie (Centre Alliance).
Search another suburb or address
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
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- 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.