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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Melrose is a regional centre in South Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 342, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 238 km from the Adelaide CBD, Melrose is a regional area in South Australia. The median household income is $73,632 per year.
Melrose has a solid income profile that supports reliable occupancy rates. Regional positioning means lower entry costs but potentially longer hold periods for capital gains.
Official Australia Post postcode for Melrose. 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 Melrose 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.
Melrose is a smaller community of 342 — about 9% of the South Australia suburb median (3,699) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Household income of $73,632/year is 9% below the South Australia median of $80,964, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median rent of $180/week (~$780/month) covers only 63% of the median mortgage of $1,230/month — the remaining $450/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. Melrose is 238 km from Adelaide, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Melrose stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Melrose sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Melrose | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 342 | 3,699 | -91% |
| Median household income | $73,632/yr | $80,964/yr | -9% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $180 | $320 | -44% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,230 | $1,616 | -24% |
| Distance to CBD | 238 km | 13 km | +1731% |
| Separate houses | 74% | 73% | +1pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Melrose — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 342 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider South Australia market over full cycles.
Weak cash flow: $180/week rent covers only 63% of the $1,230/month median mortgage — a $450/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.
With 74% houses in a 342-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 Melrose property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Melrose are modest for 2026 — incomes 9% below the SA median of $80,964 and a population of 342 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~63% of the typical mortgage ($780/month rent vs $1,230/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 33/100 places Melrose 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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Melrose scores 33/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 342, median household income of $73,632/year and median weekly rent of $180. 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 Melrose are a median household income of $73,632/year, a dwelling mix that is 74% 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.
Melrose has a usual resident population of approximately 342, 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.
Melrose sits 238 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 $180 in Melrose, equating to approximately $9,360/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 Melrose is $1,230, or approximately $14,760/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 $180 works out to $780/month, covering 63% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,230/month. That leaves a $450/month shortfall (around $5,400/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 (342 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,230 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.