Penfield sits 35 km from Adelaide CBD in South Australia, around 32 minutes by car. Census data records 422 residents with a median age of 70 and a median household income of $33,956 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $180 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $898. The area shows high aircraft noise risk and high crime risk. Walkability is low.
This suburb is too small to rate.
The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 422. 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.
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Median House Price
Public listings dataThe median house sale price in Penfield sits at $277,000, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only six sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.
Houses
$277,000
Based on only 6 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Units
$283,000
Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Rental Market
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 5121.
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.
Is Penfield safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Penfield sits in the high band, with 41 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 13% on the prior year.
41 offences
12.8% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20257 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.
Aircraft Noise
ANEF Contour Details
Unacceptable for residential
Significant impact — conditional building
Significant impact — conditional building
Moderate impact — noise insulation required
Noticeable aircraft noise
Schools
Walkability
Penfield is very car-dependent on foot — at 15/100, nearly all errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Penfield.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 3.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 4.7 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.0 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 2 min
- Span of service
- 12.7 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 Penfield.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 1%
- Premises covered
- 275
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
Playford: 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
Penfield is home to 422 residents, with a median age of 70 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $34,000 a year, with unemployment at 8.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
422
Median Age
70
Median Household Income
$33,956/yr
Census Median Rent
$180/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$898/mo
Avg Household Size
1.8
Median Personal Income
$24,908/yr
Unemployment Rate
8.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
11.1%
Total Dwellings
216
Owner-Occupier Rate
87.6%
Houses
97.2%
Rental Stress
27.6%
Mortgage Stress
31.7%
Work From Home
31.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 47.9%
- English Spoken at Home
- 67.8%
- Employment Rate
- 20.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 23.0%
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.
3 residents (0.7%) 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
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,101 a year through Playford based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 71%
- Industrial 14%
- Infrastructure and transport 8%
- Residential 6%
- Parks and recreation 2%
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: Playford
In the year to August 2026, 2,475 new dwellings were approved across Playford. That mix is 2,182 houses and 293 units. Approvals are up 65.0% 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, 5.1 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Edinburgh RAAF, 2.2 kmDry climate — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 23 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 9.8 km
- Annual rainfall
- 404 mm
- 67 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 30.0°C
- 28 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.6°C
- 1 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- 3.5 kmPolymer Foam Product ManufacturingTop reported: Toluene-2,4-diisocyanate
- 3.8 kmPolymer Foam Product ManufacturingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide
- 4.1 kmPoultry ProcessingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
EV adoption
In postcode 5121, 15 of 2,277 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.0% (68 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.6%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5121, 1,003 rooftop-solar systems totalling 8.7 MW have been installed since 2001. 69 went up in the last year.
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 Matt Burnell Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Matt Burnell | 65.3% | 34.7% | +2.4 |
| 2022 | Matt Burnell | 62.9% | 37.1% | +1.2 |
| 2019 | Nick Champion | 64.1% | 35.9% | +3.0 |
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 Nick Champion Australian Labor Party
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Nick Champion ALP | 54.2% |
| 2022 | Nick Champion ALP | 69.7% |
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 Penfield?
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 422 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
Virginia SA 5120
Eyre SA 5121
Waterloo Corner SA 5110
Direk SA 5110
Macdonald Park SA 5121
Edinburgh SA 5111
Compare Penfield 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 Penfield
Is Penfield a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Penfield is high (87/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Penfield?
Penfield has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a high share of it (78/100). Part of it sits inside an aircraft noise contour. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
What is the population of Penfield?
Penfield, SA had a population of 422 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Penfield, SA?
The postcode for Penfield, SA is 5121.
How far is Penfield from Adelaide?
Penfield is 35 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 32 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Penfield?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Penfield was $33,956 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 Penfield?
There are too few current rental listings in Penfield for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $180, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Penfield?
The median age of residents in Penfield was 70 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Penfield walkable?
Penfield scores 15/100 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 Penfield?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Penfield (Elizabeth) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.5 µg/m³ and PM10 of 18.7 µg/m³. That puts Penfield 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 Penfield?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Penfield, Edinburgh RAAF (2.2 km away), summer days average 30°C, winter nights 6.6°C, 404 mm of rain a year over 67 rainy days, and 28 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Penfield?
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 Penfield belong to?
Penfield sits within the Playford local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Penfield?
The average residential rates bill through Playford is $2,101 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Penfield?
Across Playford, 2,475 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 65.0% 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 Penfield in?
Penfield sits within the federal Division of Spence, currently held by Matt Burnell (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.