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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Whyalla is a coastal suburb in South Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,609, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 231 km from the Adelaide CBD, Whyalla is a coastal area in South Australia. The median household income is $86,216 per year.
Moderate income levels in Whyalla indicate steady rental demand from working households. The coastal setting provides a lifestyle factor that underpins property values.
Official Australia Post postcode for Whyalla. 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 Whyalla 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.
3,609 residents places Whyalla squarely in the middle of the South Australia suburb size distribution (state median 3,699), with market depth comparable to most SA localities. Households here earn $86,216/year on average — 6% above the SA suburb median of $80,964 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Median rent of $200/week (~$867/month) covers only 67% of the median mortgage of $1,300/month — the remaining $433/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. Whyalla is 231 km from Adelaide, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Coastal markets benefit from lifestyle appeal but require a buffer for higher insurance and occasional weather-driven vacancies. Local rents consume roughly 12% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Whyalla stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Whyalla sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Whyalla | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,609 | 3,699 | -2% |
| Median household income | $86,216/yr | $80,964/yr | +6% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $200 | $320 | -37% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,300 | $1,616 | -20% |
| Distance to CBD | 231 km | 13 km | +1677% |
| Separate houses | 65% | 73% | -8pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Whyalla — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Whyalla's 3,609-person market and $86,216 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $200/week covers 67% of a $1,300/month mortgage, leaving a $433/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 65% houses in a 3,609-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 Whyalla property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Whyalla are modest for 2026 — incomes 6% above the SA median of $80,964 and a population of 3,609 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~67% of the typical mortgage ($867/month rent vs $1,300/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 53/100 places Whyalla in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Whyalla scores 53/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,609, median household income of $86,216/year and median weekly rent of $200. 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 Whyalla are an above-state-median household income of $86,216/year, a dwelling mix that is 65% 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.
Whyalla has a usual resident population of approximately 3,609, 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.
Whyalla sits 231 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 $200 in Whyalla, equating to approximately $10,400/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 Whyalla is $1,300, or approximately $15,600/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 $200 works out to $867/month, covering 67% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,300/month. That leaves a $433/month shortfall (around $5,196/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 (3,609 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,300 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.