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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Hill River is a regional centre in South Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 98, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 125 km from the Adelaide CBD, Hill River is a regional area in South Australia. The median household income is $84,500 per year.
Moderate income levels in Hill River indicate steady rental demand from working households. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Hill River. 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 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Hill River on My School →Estimated 1 park 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.
Hill River is a smaller community of 98 — about 3% of the South Australia suburb median (3,699) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. At $84,500/year, household income in Hill River is within 4% of the South Australia median ($80,964), placing the suburb firmly in the state's mainstream demographic band. Median rent of $220/week (~$953/month) covers only 58% of the median mortgage of $1,647/month — the remaining $694/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. Hill River is 125 km from Adelaide, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Hill River stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Hill River sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Hill River | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 98 | 3,699 | -97% |
| Median household income | $84,500/yr | $80,964/yr | +4% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $220 | $320 | -31% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,647 | $1,616 | +2% |
| Distance to CBD | 125 km | 13 km | +862% |
| Separate houses | 72% | 73% | -1pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Hill River — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 98 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider South Australia market over full cycles.
Weak cash flow: $220/week rent covers only 58% of the $1,647/month median mortgage — a $694/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.
With 72% houses in a 98-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 Hill River property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Hill River are modest for 2026 — incomes close to the SA median of $80,964 and a population of 98 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~58% of the typical mortgage ($953/month rent vs $1,647/month repayment), meaning investors will rely on capital growth rather than yield. The EquitySight investment score of 35/100 places Hill River in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Hill River scores 35/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 98, median household income of $84,500/year and median weekly rent of $220. 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 Hill River are an above-state-median household income of $84,500/year, a dwelling mix that is 72% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 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.
Hill River has a usual resident population of approximately 98, compared with a South Australia suburb median of 3,699 — placing it in the lower 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.
Hill River sits 125 km straight-line from the Adelaide CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $220 in Hill River, equating to approximately $11,440/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 Hill River is $1,647, or approximately $19,764/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 $220 works out to $953/month, covering 58% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,647/month. That leaves a $694/month shortfall (around $8,328/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 a thin buyer pool (98 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,647 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.