ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
O'Sullivan Beach is a coastal suburb in South Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 1,844, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 24 km from the Adelaide CBD, O'Sullivan Beach is a coastal area in South Australia. The median household income is $55,744 per year.
Lower income levels in O'Sullivan Beach typically translate to more affordable entry points for investors. The coastal setting provides a lifestyle factor that underpins property values.
Official Australia Post postcode for O'Sullivan Beach. 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 O'Sullivan Beach 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.
O'Sullivan Beach is a smaller community of 1,844 — about 50% of the South Australia suburb median (3,699) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. O'Sullivan Beach's median household income of $55,744/year is 31% below the South Australia suburb median ($80,964) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median weekly rent of $300 equates to $1,300/month — about 108% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,200/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. 24 km from Adelaide places O'Sullivan Beach in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
How O'Sullivan Beach stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean O'Sullivan Beach sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | O'Sullivan Beach | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,844 | 3,699 | -50% |
| Median household income | $55,744/yr | $80,964/yr | -31% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $300 | $320 | -6% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,200 | $1,616 | -26% |
| Distance to CBD | 24 km | 13 km | +85% |
| Separate houses | 84% | 73% | +11pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for O'Sullivan Beach — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 1,844 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider South Australia market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $300/week (~$1,300/month) covers 108% of the $1,200/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 84% houses in a 1,844-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 O'Sullivan Beach property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for O'Sullivan Beach are modest for 2026 — incomes 31% below the SA median of $80,964 and a population of 1,844 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~108% of the typical mortgage ($1,300/month rent vs $1,200/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 41/100 places O'Sullivan Beach in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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O'Sullivan Beach scores 41/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 1,844, median household income of $55,744/year and median weekly rent of $300. 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 O'Sullivan Beach are proximity to Adelaide (24 km), a median household income of $55,744/year, a dwelling mix that is 84% 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.
O'Sullivan Beach has a usual resident population of approximately 1,844, 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.
O'Sullivan Beach sits 24 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 $300 in O'Sullivan Beach, equating to approximately $15,600/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 O'Sullivan Beach is $1,200, or approximately $14,400/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 $300 works out to $1,300/month, covering 108% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,200/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $100/month, so on these numbers O'Sullivan Beach leans cash-flow-positive before accounting for strata, council rates, insurance and maintenance. 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 (1,844 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,200 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($55,744 vs $80,964 state median), 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.