South Plympton sits 8 km from Adelaide CBD in South Australia, around 14 minutes by car. Census data records 4,721 residents with a median age of 37 and a median household income of $80,704 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 13.1% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $340 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,700. The area shows high crime risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. Of 3 schools within the suburb boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is high.
Is South Plympton a good suburb?
South Plympton scores a A (73/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on schools and transit.
Above the state average
3 schools · 1 above peer schools · Top 21% in SA
Walkable and central
Walkability 89/100 · 7.9 km · 14 min drive to Adelaide
Around the state median
Median $1.12M
Moderate crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 67/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 37 · 4,721 residents
Liveability Rating
73 / 100 · Ranked #67 in SAEach bar is South Plympton's rank among SA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in South Plympton?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
73 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataSouth Plympton's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.12 million, roughly 18% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,116,944
8% above its 6 neighbours (median $1,035,000)
Based on 96 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 16 days — median across 52 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $906K
- 3 bed 60 sales $1.06M
- 4 bed 26 sales $1.26M
Units
$637,500
24% above its 5 neighbours (median $515,000)
Based on 12 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 25 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 9 sales $670K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in South Plympton are currently listed at around $1.15 million on average. Based on 7 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.15M
7 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$542K
3 units listed in the last 6 months.
10 of the suburb's 1,963 dwellings (0.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in South Plympton rent for around $700 a week on average, based on 16 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$700/wk
In line with its 6 neighbours (median $710/wk)
16 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$545/wk
7 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
23 rentals advertised against an estimated 626 rented homes (3.7%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Apr–Jun 2026- 3-bed houses
- $650/wk
- 20 bonds
- +48% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $540/wk
- 10 bonds
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 2025107 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 28% of its income on the median rent in postcode 5038.
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$700/week ($36,000 a year) on a $1.15 million median
Based on a small sample (7 listings) — indicative only.
$545/week ($28,000 a year) on a $542,000 median
Based on a small sample (3 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 South Plympton safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in South Plympton sits in the moderate band, with 212 incidents recorded in 2026 — up about 10% on the prior year.
212 offences
9.8% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 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 South Plympton, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Emmaus Christian College leads the pack.
- • 1,319 students across 2 schools (avg 660)
- • Sectors: 2 Independent, 1 Government
- • ICSEA 1002-1137, median 1070 (above the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Emmaus Christian College (1,084 students)
Primary
Secondary
Combined
Universities nearby
- 2.9 kmTonsleyFlinders University · 63 courses
- 5.6 kmBedford ParkFlinders University · 399 courses
- 6.2 kmAdelaide University, Adelaide City CampusAdelaide University · 472 courses
3.2% of residents here are full-time university students aged 15–24.
Distance is measured to the suburb centre. A campus nearby does not by itself mean a student rental market — most suburbs within a few kilometres of one have a student share close to the national norm, and the figure above is what tells them apart.
Walkability
South Plympton is very walkable on foot — at 89/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside South Plympton.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 78.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 58.0 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 36.2 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 19.4 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 South Plympton.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 5%
- Premises covered
- 2,278
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
Marion: 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 11 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 3 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the suburb closely.
South Plympton is home to about 4,700 residents, with a median age of 37, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $81,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.9%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,721
Median Age
37
Median Household Income
$80,704/yr
Census Median Rent
$340/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,700/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$41,860/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.9%
Unoccupied Dwellings
6.8%
Total Dwellings
1,963
Owner-Occupier Rate
68.1%
Houses
61.0%
Rental Stress
21.9%
Mortgage Stress
25.3%
Work From Home
11.5%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
53 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 23 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 589 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 65.1%
- English Spoken at Home
- 67.0%
- Employment Rate
- 62.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 54.7%
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.
392 residents (8.3%) 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 4,447 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
26% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (636 of 2,481).
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 791 people work here; 2,481 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 $1,782 a year through Marion based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 94%
- Parks and recreation 3%
- Industrial 2%
- 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: Marion
In the year to August 2026, 809 new dwellings were approved across Marion. That mix is 324 houses and 485 units. Approvals are down 31.2% 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, 6.2 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Adelaide Airport M.o., 4.4 kmDry climate — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 24 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 4.4 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
7 facilities within 5 km- 2.5 kmTimber Resawing and DressingTop reported: Copper & compounds · Arsenic & compounds · Chromium (VI) compounds
- 2.9 kmBiscuit Manufacturing (Factory based)Top reported: Ammonia (total) · Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide
- 3.3 kmBread Manufacturing (Factory based)Top reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Ethanol · Carbon monoxide
- 3.7 kmFuneral, Crematorium and Cemetery ServicesTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 4.1 kmOther Petroleum and Coal Product ManufacturingTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
EV adoption
In postcode 5038, 103 of 12,748 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.2% (413 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5038, 3,366 rooftop-solar systems totalling 20.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 7,921 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 220 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 this suburb, 6 across postcode 5038.
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 Louise Miller-Frost Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Louise Miller-Frost | 61.1% | 38.9% | +7.8 |
| 2022 | Louise Miller-Frost | 53.3% | 46.7% | -4.7 |
| 2019 | Nicolle Flint | 48.6% | 51.4% | -1.3 |
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 Jayne Stinson Australian Labor Party
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jayne Stinson ALP | 71.2% |
| 2022 | Jayne Stinson ALP | 64.8% |
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 South Plympton?
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 4,721 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
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
Plympton SA 5038
Edwardstown SA 5039
Plympton Park SA 5038
Ascot Park SA 5043
Park Holme SA 5043
Glandore SA 5037
Compare South Plympton to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other SA suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about South Plympton
Is South Plympton a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in South Plympton is moderate (67/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect South Plympton?
South Plympton has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is South Plympton a good place to live?
South Plympton has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of A (73/100), 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 South Plympton?
South Plympton, SA had a population of 4,721 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for South Plympton, SA?
The postcode for South Plympton, SA is 5038.
How far is South Plympton from Adelaide?
South Plympton is 8 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 14 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in South Plympton?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in South Plympton was $80,704 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 South Plympton?
The median advertised rent in South Plympton is $700 a week for houses (16 listings) and $545 a week for units (7 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in South Plympton?
The median age of residents in South Plympton was 37 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in South Plympton?
There are 3 schools inside the South Plympton boundary: 1 above and 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is South Plympton walkable?
South Plympton scores 89/100 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 South Plympton?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to South Plympton (Adelaide CBD) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.0 µg/m³ and PM10 of 17.8 µg/m³. That puts South Plympton 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 South Plympton?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to South Plympton, Adelaide Airport M.o. (4.4 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 South Plympton?
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 South Plympton belong to?
South Plympton sits within the Marion local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in South Plympton?
The average residential rates bill through Marion is $1,782 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near South Plympton?
Across Marion, 809 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 31.2% 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 South Plympton in?
South Plympton sits within the federal Division of Boothby, currently held by Louise Miller-Frost (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.