Noarlunga Downs SA 5168
Located in South Australia, Noarlunga Downs sits 33 km from Adelaide CBD, around 33 minutes by car. The suburb has 4,031 residents, a median age of 39, and a median household income of $61,828 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. Population grew 4.8% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $250 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,352. The area shows high flood risk and high crime risk. 3 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Noarlunga Downs a good suburb?
Noarlunga Downs scores a D (20/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on schools, safety, and community.
Below the state average
3 schools · Bottom 19% in SA
Somewhat walkable
Walkability 48/100 · 33.3 km · 33 min drive to Adelaide
Around the state median
Median $780K · Cheaper than 88% of SA
High flood risk
Fire 38/100 · Crime 65/100 · Flood 82/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 39 · 4,031 residents
Liveability Rating
20 / 100 · Ranked #505 in SAEach bar is Noarlunga Downs's rank among SA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Noarlunga Downs?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
20 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataNoarlunga Downs's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $780,000, roughly 16% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$780,000
7% below its 6 neighbours (median $840,000)
Based on 87 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 25 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 12 sales $587K
- 3 bed 43 sales $740K
- 4 bed 25 sales $875K
- 5 bed 7 sales $1.07M
Units
$590,000
Based on 11 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 19 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 10 sales $599K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Noarlunga Downs are currently listed at around $786,000 on average. Based on 8 houses listed in the past six months.
$786K
8 houses listed in the last 6 months.
8 of the suburb's 1,668 dwellings (0.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Noarlunga Downs rent for around $600 a week on average, based on 11 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$600/wk
8% below its 5 neighbours (median $655/wk)
11 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
12 rentals advertised against an estimated 579 rented homes (2.1%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Apr–Jun 2026- 3-bed houses
- $588/wk
- 10 bonds
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025105 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 29% of its income on the median rent in postcode 5168.
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$600/week ($31,000 a year) on a $786,000 median
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 Noarlunga Downs safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Noarlunga Downs sits in the moderate band, with 166 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 26% on the prior year.
166 offences
26.5% 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 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
Three schools serve Noarlunga Downs, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 2,371 students across 2 schools (avg 1,186)
- • Sectors: 1 Catholic, 1 Government, 1 Independent
- • ICSEA 937-1019, median 978 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Cardijn College - Marian Campus (2,247 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Noarlunga Downs is car-dependent on foot — at 48/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Noarlunga Downs.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 79.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 39.8 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 32.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 17.8 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 Noarlunga Downs.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 50%
- Premises covered
- 1,843
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
Onkaparinga: 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 10 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Noarlunga Downs is home to about 4,000 residents, with a median age of 39, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $62,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.9%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,031
Median Age
39
Median Household Income
$61,828/yr
Census Median Rent
$250/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,352/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$33,696/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.9%
Unoccupied Dwellings
5.4%
Total Dwellings
1,668
Owner-Occupier Rate
65.3%
Houses
88.5%
Rental Stress
21.0%
Mortgage Stress
26.2%
Work From Home
7.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
251 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 57 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 541 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 73.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 87.2%
- Employment Rate
- 53.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 37.3%
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.
45 residents (1.1%) 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 3,812 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
9% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (168 of 1,773).
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 587 people work here; 1,773 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 67% 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 $2,008 a year through Onkaparinga based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 66%
- Environmental 33%
- 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: Onkaparinga
In the year to August 2026, 1,367 new dwellings were approved across Onkaparinga. That mix is 813 houses and 554 units. Approvals are up 58.4% on the same period a year earlier.
Air Quality
This station does not measure fine particles (PM2.5).
PM10 averaged 19.5 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.34 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 3 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Christie Downs monitoring station, 2.4 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Adelaide Airport M.o., 22.8 kmDry climate — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 11 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 2.4 km
- Annual rainfall
- 394 mm
- 71 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 28.1°C
- 16 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.8°C
- 0 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
3 facilities within 5 km- 3.0 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Cumene (1-methylethylbenzene) · Benzene
- 4.2 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Total Phosphorus · Ammonia (total)
- 4.8 kmWine and Other Alcoholic Beverage ManufacturingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Ethanol
EV adoption
In postcode 5168, 45 of 4,469 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 4.2% (186 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.2%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5168, 1,705 rooftop-solar systems totalling 10.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,465 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 75 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
2 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 5168.
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 Amanda Rishworth Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Amanda Rishworth | 70.7% | 29.3% | +4.4 |
| 2022 | Amanda Rishworth | 66.3% | 33.6% | -4.4 |
| 2019 | Amanda Rishworth | 61.9% | 38.1% | +1.6 |
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 Chris Picton Australian Labor Party
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Chris Picton ALP | 62.0% |
| 2022 | Chris Picton ALP | 70.1% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2024, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of South Australia.
Looking at a specific address in Noarlunga Downs?
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 4,031 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
Seaford Meadows SA 5169
Huntfield Heights SA 5163
Hackham West SA 5163
Port Noarlunga SA 5167
Port Noarlunga South SA 5167
Old Noarlunga SA 5168
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Common questions about Noarlunga Downs
Is Noarlunga Downs a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Noarlunga Downs is moderate (65/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Noarlunga Downs?
Noarlunga Downs has a low recorded bushfire history (38/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a high share of it (82/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Noarlunga Downs a good place to live?
Noarlunga Downs has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (20/100), 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 Noarlunga Downs?
Noarlunga Downs, SA had a population of 4,031 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Noarlunga Downs, SA?
The postcode for Noarlunga Downs, SA is 5168.
How far is Noarlunga Downs from Adelaide?
Noarlunga Downs is 33 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 Noarlunga Downs?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Noarlunga Downs was $61,828 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 Noarlunga Downs?
The median advertised rent in Noarlunga Downs is $600 a week for houses (11 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Noarlunga Downs?
The median age of residents in Noarlunga Downs was 39 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Noarlunga Downs at risk of bushfire?
Noarlunga Downs has a low recorded bushfire history (38/100). 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 Noarlunga Downs?
There are 3 schools inside the Noarlunga Downs boundary: 2 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Noarlunga Downs walkable?
Noarlunga Downs scores 48/100 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 Noarlunga Downs?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Noarlunga Downs, Adelaide Airport M.o. (22.8 km away), summer days average 28.1°C, winter nights 7.8°C, 394 mm of rain a year over 71 rainy days, and 16 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Noarlunga Downs?
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 Noarlunga Downs belong to?
Noarlunga Downs sits within the Onkaparinga local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Noarlunga Downs?
The average residential rates bill through Onkaparinga is $2,008 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Noarlunga Downs?
Across Onkaparinga, 1,367 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 58.4% 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 Noarlunga Downs in?
Noarlunga Downs sits within the federal Division of Kingston, currently held by Amanda Rishworth (Australian Labor Party).
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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
- 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.