Tailem Bend SA 5260
Tailem Bend is a town in South Australia, 97 km from Adelaide CBD, around 1 hour 10 minutes by car. Population is 1,705; the median age is 49 and the median household income is $47,060 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. Population grew 2.4% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $225 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $867. The area shows high crime risk. 1 school sits within the town boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Tailem Bend a good town?
Tailem Bend scores a D (27/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on safety and community.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 56/100 · 96.7 km · 69 min drive to Adelaide
Median available
Median $415K
High crime risk
Fire 10/100 · Crime 80/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 49 · 1,705 residents
Liveability Rating
27 / 100 · Ranked #464 in SAEach bar is Tailem Bend's rank among SA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Tailem Bend?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
27 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataTailem Bend's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $415,000, roughly 23% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$415,000
Based on 63 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 23 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 5 sales $325K
- 3 bed 46 sales $407K
- 4 bed 7 sales $445K
Land
$280,000
Based on 11 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 34 days — median across 4 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Tailem Bend are currently listed at around $640,000 on average. Based on 11 houses listed in the past six months.
$640K
11 houses listed in the last 6 months.
11 of the suburb's 694 dwellings (1.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Tailem Bend rent for around $412 a week on average, based on 6 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$412/wk
6 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
6 rentals advertised against an estimated 164 rented homes (3.7%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Apr–Jun 2026- All rentals
- $435/wk
- 10 bonds
- +43% 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.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$412/week ($21,000 a year) on a $640,000 median
Based on a small sample (6 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 Tailem Bend safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Tailem Bend sits in the high band, with 124 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 44% on the prior year.
124 offences
44.2% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. This state’s crash data does not name the road.
Schools
One school serve Tailem Bend, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 125 students in one school (avg 125)
Primary
Walkability
Tailem Bend is somewhat walkable on foot — at 56/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Tailem Bend.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 2%
- Premises covered
- 998
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
Coorong: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 6 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the town closely.
Tailem Bend is home to about 1,700 residents, with a median age of 49, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $47,000 a year, with unemployment at 7.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,705
Median Age
49
Median Household Income
$47,060/yr
Census Median Rent
$225/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$867/mo
Avg Household Size
2.1
Median Personal Income
$26,312/yr
Unemployment Rate
7.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
18.2%
Total Dwellings
694
Owner-Occupier Rate
76.3%
Houses
93.9%
Rental Stress
24.9%
Mortgage Stress
22.1%
Work From Home
8.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
6 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 7 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 157 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 81.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 86.9%
- Employment Rate
- 41.2%
- 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.
11 residents (0.6%) 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.
7.0% of residents (115) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Adelaide (106).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,642 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
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,465 a year through Coorong based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 88%
- Industrial 6%
- Environmental 4%
- Zones under 1% 2%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the town around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Coorong
In the year to August 2026, 28 new dwellings were approved across Coorong. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are down 50.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Tailem Bend, 0.1 kmDry climate.
- Elevation
- 22 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Near high-voltage lines
- 0.7% of addresses
- 9 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 345 mm
- 58 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the town 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
2 facilities within 5 km- 0.3 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · n-Hexane · Toluene (methylbenzene)
- 2.1 km
EV adoption
In postcode 5260, 7 of 1,814 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 0.7% (12 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5260, 575 rooftop-solar systems totalling 3.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 856 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 34 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
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 Tony Pasin Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Tony Pasin | 37.0% | 63.0% | +3.6 |
| 2022 | Tony Pasin | 33.4% | 66.6% | -2.3 |
| 2019 | Tony Pasin | 31.1% | 68.9% | +5.1 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Jason Virgo Pauline Hanson's One Nation
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jason Virgo ON | 50.9% |
| 2022 | Nick McBride LP | 72.7% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2024, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of South Australia.
Looking at a specific address in Tailem Bend?
Every figure above is a town 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 1,705 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.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Tailem Bend 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 Tailem Bend
Is Tailem Bend a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Tailem Bend is high (80/100, 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 Tailem Bend?
Tailem Bend has a low recorded bushfire history (10/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Tailem Bend a good place to live?
Tailem Bend has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (27/100), 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 Tailem Bend?
Tailem Bend, SA had a population of 1,705 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Tailem Bend, SA?
The postcode for Tailem Bend, SA is 5260.
How far is Tailem Bend from Adelaide?
Tailem Bend is 97 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 69 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Tailem Bend?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Tailem Bend was $47,060 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 Tailem Bend?
The median advertised rent in Tailem Bend is $412 a week for houses (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Tailem Bend?
The median age of residents in Tailem Bend was 49 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Tailem Bend at risk of bushfire?
Tailem Bend has a low recorded bushfire history (10/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town 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 Tailem Bend?
There is 1 school inside the Tailem Bend boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Tailem Bend walkable?
Tailem Bend scores 56/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. 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 Tailem Bend?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Tailem Bend, Tailem Bend (0.1 km away), 345 mm of rain a year over 58 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Tailem Bend?
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 Tailem Bend belong to?
Tailem Bend sits within the Coorong local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Tailem Bend?
The average residential rates bill through Coorong is $1,465 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Tailem Bend?
Across Coorong, 28 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 50.0% 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 Tailem Bend in?
Tailem Bend sits within the federal Division of Barker, currently held by Tony Pasin (Liberal).
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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
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2026
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- 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.