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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Thornlea is a regional centre in South Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 46, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 312 km from the Adelaide CBD, Thornlea is a regional area in South Australia. The median household income is $102,336 per year.
Above-average earnings in Thornlea support sustained property values. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Thornlea. 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 Thornlea 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.
Thornlea is a smaller community of 46 — about 1% of the South Australia suburb median (3,699) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $102,336/year runs 26% 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. Rent of $180/week (80% coverage of the $975/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $195/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Thornlea is 312 km from Adelaide, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Thornlea stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Thornlea sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Thornlea | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 46 | 3,699 | -99% |
| Median household income | $102,336/yr | $80,964/yr | +26% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $180 | $320 | -44% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $975 | $1,616 | -40% |
| Distance to CBD | 312 km | 13 km | +2300% |
| Separate houses | 63% | 73% | -10pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Thornlea — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 46 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider South Australia market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $180/week covers 80% of a $975/month mortgage, leaving a $195/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
Only 63% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 73% SA median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Thornlea property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Thornlea are modest for 2026 — incomes 26% above the SA median of $80,964 and a population of 46 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~80% of the typical mortgage ($780/month rent vs $975/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 44/100 places Thornlea 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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Thornlea scores 44/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 46, median household income of $102,336/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 Thornlea are an above-state-median household income of $102,336/year, a dwelling mix that is 63% 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.
Thornlea has a usual resident population of approximately 46, 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.
Thornlea sits 312 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 Thornlea, 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 Thornlea is $975, or approximately $11,700/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 80% of the median mortgage repayment of $975/month. That leaves a $195/month shortfall (around $2,340/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 (46 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $975 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.