Penwortham SA 5453

Penwortham sits 132 km from Adelaide CBD in South Australia, around 1 hour 40 minutes by car. Census data records 163 residents with a median age of 52 and a median household income of $94,692 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 40% nationally. Population grew 10.9% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $300 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,717. 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 163. 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 Penwortham?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

Not enough data to score this locality.

Residents say

…

AwfulPoorAverageGoodGreat
What applies here? (optional)

One rating per person. You can change yours at any time.

Rental Market

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

114 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 26% of its income on the median rent in postcode 5453.

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 Penwortham safe? Crime statistics

2026

Crime in Penwortham sits in the low band, with 1 incidents recorded in 2026.

1 offences

no change since 2025
Assault 1 (100.0%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

1 crash

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

No schools in this locality boundary.

Walkability

Penwortham is very car-dependent on foot — at 14/100, nearly all errands require a car.

14
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km 48
Schools within 1.5 km 0
Parks within 800 m 0
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Penwortham.

29
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
86
Technology mix
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 94%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 6%

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

No amenities mapped in this locality boundary.

Clare and Gilbert Valleys: council population

The whole council area, not just Penwortham · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
9,467
+0.2% in a year
Change
+21
people since 2024
Density
5.0
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-8
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+5
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+24
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
8/10
8/10 within SA
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
7/10
8/10 within SA
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
9/10
9/10 within SA
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Penwortham is home to 163 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $95,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.3%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

163

10.9% since 2016

Median Age

52

10.6% since 2016

Median Household Income

$94,692/yr

24.0% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$300/wk

36.4% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,717/mo

10.1% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.5

4.2% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$40,144/yr

2.6% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

6.3%

Unoccupied Dwellings

29.5%

1.7% since 2016

Total Dwellings

61

22.0% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

90.3%

1.8% since 2016

Houses

100.0%

no change since 2016

Rental Stress

16.5%

10.0% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

21.8%

11.0% since 2016

Work From Home

15.8%

5.4% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 61 (100.0%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 32 (51.6%)
Mortgage 24 (38.7%)
Renting 6 (9.7%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
84.0%
English Spoken at Home
87.1%
Employment Rate
60.5%
3.7% since 2016
Completed Year 12
43.6%

Occupations

Professionals 23 (30.3%)
Managers 22 (28.9%)
Technicians & Trades 9 (11.8%)
Sales 7 (9.2%)
Labourers 7 (9.2%)
Community & Personal Service 5 (6.6%)
Clerical & Administrative 3 (3.9%)

Religion

No Religion 91 (55.8%)
Christianity 50 (30.7%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 3 (1.8%)

Age Distribution

0-4 11 (6.7%)
5-14 23 (14.1%)
15-19 8 (4.9%)
25-34 3 (1.8%)
35-44 19 (11.7%)
45-54 20 (12.3%)
55-64 39 (23.9%)
65-74 22 (13.5%)
75-84 9 (5.5%)
85+ 9 (5.5%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 16 (48.5%)
Lone Person 14 (42.4%)
One Parent Families 3 (9.1%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 54 (71.1%)
Worked from Home 12 (15.8%)
Car (passenger) 5 (6.6%)
Walked Only 5 (6.6%)

Education

Bachelor Degree 25 (15.3%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 20 (12.3%)
Certificate III & IV 14 (8.6%)
Postgraduate Degree 6 (3.7%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4 (2.5%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 11 (18.0%)
2 cars 29 (47.5%)
3 cars 16 (26.2%)
4+ cars 8 (13.1%)

Council Rates

Clare and Gilbert Valleys
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,830 a year through Clare and Gilbert Valleys based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,830/yr
About the SA average ($1,863) · median of 68 councils
Valuation basis
Capital Value
land + buildings

How this land is zoned

Share of Penwortham's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 99%
  • Residential 1%

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: Clare and Gilbert Valleys

The whole council area, not just Penwortham · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 28 new dwellings were approved across Clare and Gilbert Valleys. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are up 20.0% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
28dwellings
+20.0% YoY
Houses
28
detached dwellings
Units
0
townhouses + apartments

Climate & Setting

from Eudunda, 49.9 km

Dry climate — hot summers, mild winters.

Elevation
463 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Annual rainfall
420 mm
71 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
29.5°C
21 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
5.6°C
1 frost days ≤ 0°C

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

0.2%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.1 points this year
Bottom 21% in SA

In postcode 5453, 8 of 5,200 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.3% (120 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.5%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.00%
2023
0.00%
2024
0.08%
2025
0.15%

Rooftop solar

67
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.9 kW each

In postcode 5453, 1,574 rooftop-solar systems totalling 12.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,357 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 71 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.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
92
2020
109
2021
115
2022
92
2023
90
2024
87
2025
64
2026
48

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.

Verify eligibility with RevenueSA

Federal Electorate

Division of Grey

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

Ngadjuri District

Currently held by David Paton Pauline Hanson's One Nation

Next state election: 16 March 2030.

Year Winner Won with
2026 David Paton ON 57.0%

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 Penwortham?

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.

Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.

Nearby suburbs

Compare Penwortham 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 Penwortham

Is Penwortham a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Penwortham is low (15/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Penwortham?

Penwortham has a low recorded bushfire history (29/100, 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 Penwortham?

Penwortham, SA had a population of 163 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Penwortham, SA?

The postcode for Penwortham, SA is 5453.

How far is Penwortham from Adelaide?

Penwortham is 132 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 100 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Penwortham?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Penwortham was $94,692 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 Penwortham?

There are too few current rental listings in Penwortham for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $300, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Penwortham?

The median age of residents in Penwortham was 52 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Penwortham at risk of bushfire?

Penwortham has a low recorded bushfire history (29/100). 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 Penwortham walkable?

Penwortham scores 14/100 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 weather like in Penwortham?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Penwortham, Eudunda (49.9 km away), summer days average 29.5°C, winter nights 5.6°C, 420 mm of rain a year over 71 rainy days, and 21 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Penwortham?

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 Penwortham belong to?

Penwortham sits within the Clare and Gilbert Valleys local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Penwortham?

The average residential rates bill through Clare and Gilbert Valleys is $1,830 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Penwortham?

Across Clare and Gilbert Valleys, 28 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 20.0% 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 Penwortham in?

Penwortham sits within the federal Division of Grey, currently held by Tom Venning (Liberal).

Search another suburb or address

Data freshness

Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.

Was the information on this page useful to you?

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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or