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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Athelstone is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Adelaide, Australia, with a population of approximately 9,601, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 11 km from the Adelaide CBD, Athelstone is a middle ring area in South Australia. The median household income is $100,932 per year.
Strong household incomes in Athelstone underpin solid property demand. Close CBD access strengthens tenant appeal and resale value.
Official Australia Post postcode for Athelstone. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 2 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Athelstone on My School →Estimated 4 parks and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
With 9,601 residents, Athelstone is one of South Australia's more populous suburbs — roughly 2.6× the state median of 3,699 — giving it a deep buyer and tenant pool that typically supports higher transaction volumes and shorter average days on market. Median household income of $100,932/year runs 25% above the South Australia suburb median of $80,964, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Median weekly rent of $360 equates to $1,560/month — about 90% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,733/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. 11 km from Adelaide places Athelstone in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 19% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Athelstone stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Athelstone sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Athelstone | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,601 | 3,699 | +160% |
| Median household income | $100,932/yr | $80,964/yr | +25% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $360 | $320 | +13% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,733 | $1,616 | +7% |
| Distance to CBD | 11 km | 13 km | -15% |
| Separate houses | 81% | 73% | +8pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Athelstone — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 25% above the South Australia suburb median ($100,932 vs $80,964), and the 11 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In South Australia, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.
Strong rental coverage: $360/week (~$1,560/month) covers 90% of the $1,733/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $173/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 81% houses in a 9,601-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Athelstone property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Athelstone enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 25% above the South Australia suburb median of $80,964 and a population of 9,601 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider SA market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~90% of the typical mortgage ($1,560/month rent vs $1,733/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 71/100 places Athelstone in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.
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Athelstone scores 71/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 9,601, median household income of $100,932/year and median weekly rent of $360. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Athelstone are proximity to Adelaide (11 km), an above-state-median household income of $100,932/year, a dwelling mix that is 81% separate houses, roughly 2 schools and 4 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Athelstone has a usual resident population of approximately 9,601, compared with a South Australia suburb median of 3,699 — placing it in the upper half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Athelstone sits 11 km straight-line from the Adelaide CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $360 in Athelstone, equating to approximately $18,720/year in gross rental income (state median $320/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Athelstone is $1,733, or approximately $20,796/year (vs $1,616/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $360 works out to $1,560/month, covering 90% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,733/month. That leaves a $173/month shortfall (around $2,076/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,733 median mortgage, the broader South Australia market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.