North Plympton

Development Activity

Demographics

The median age of 40 matches the national figure exactly, making North Plympton age-neutral relative to state and national benchmarks. What stands out is the education level: 44.9% hold university qualifications, 14.8 percentage points above the national average, which has supported the suburb's transition toward professional households. Overseas-born residents at 33.1% are 11.5 points above national, and the top non-English languages are Greek (68 speakers), Mandarin (66) and Punjabi (60), reflecting a Greek heritage base now supplemented by newer South Asian arrivals. Ancestry data shows English (1,027) as the largest group, followed by Irish (283), Scottish (276) and Greek (231). Average household size is 2.3, marginally below the national figure, consistent with the older couples-without-children profile where 26.6% of families have no dependent children.

Tenure is split roughly across three groups: 37.5% are paying a mortgage, 30.2% own outright and 32.4% rent, a configuration that indicates a suburb with both established long-term residents and a healthy investor presence. The stock is dominated by three-bedroom separate houses at 55.7%, which aligns with the 69.9% separate house share, one of the higher detached ratios for inner Adelaide. Semi-detached dwellings at 27.6% offer a lower-entry price point in the same postcode. The median price moved from $1,150,000 in 1Q 2025 to $1,177,560 in 1Q 2026, a 2.4% annual gain, slower than the rent growth of 25% over a similar period. Mortgage-to-income at 24.9% and rent-to-income at 21.8% both sit below stress thresholds, meaning the suburb is financially accessible relative to its price tier compared to many eastern seaboard equivalents.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

Healthcare is the dominant employing industry at 23.2% of the local workforce (290 workers), reflecting proximity to Flinders Medical Centre and the broader southern Adelaide health precinct. Education follows at 10.5% (132 workers) and Professional/Tech at 9.1% (114), giving the suburb a knowledge and health services character. By occupation, Professionals lead with 449 workers, followed by Clerical/Admin (261) and Community/Personal services (257), consistent with the higher-than-national university qualification rate of 44.9%. The unemployment rate is 5.5% with a 56.8% participation rate; the latter reflects a meaningful share of residents outside the labour force (1,173), partly explained by the older household composition and student population. SEIFA IEO decile 7 confirms above-average education and occupation status, though IER decile 3 points to relatively lower economic resource accumulation, likely because 32.4% of households rent rather than hold property wealth.

Transport to Work

Car use is high at 82.6% of commuters, with public transport at 7.6% and walking or cycling at 3.9%, typical of a mid-ring Adelaide suburb that lacks heavy rail but has bus connections. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring precincts. The crime rate of 24.1 incidents per 1,000 residents is consistent with the suburb's identity signal as a low-crime area, though the raw total of 87 recorded incidents across a population of 3,610 should be read in the context of the small suburb area of 1.52 km2. IRSAD decile 6 places the suburb in the middle of the national advantage range, above the national median. Rent-to-income at 21.8% and mortgage-to-income at 24.9% both remain below 30%, keeping housing costs manageable relative to incomes at the 57.2nd household income percentile nationally.

Population Forecast

Population grew 16.3% over the decade and annual growth is projected at 1.22%, adding roughly 349 people per year. Under the medium forecast, the broader area is expected to reach 30,494 by 2031, up from 28,617 in 2025. The primary growth driver is overseas migration at a net 773 residents a year, well above the net internal outflow of 368, a pattern common in suburbs transitioning from Anglo-Celtic working class to professional and migrant households. The gentrification score of 32 places the suburb at the early signs stage, supported by signals including population growth of 22% since 2011, an accelerating overseas inflow, and real income growth of 15.9% over the decade. Affordability has improved from 43.1% of median income in 2011 to 37.8% in 2021, suggesting rising incomes have outpaced price growth in percentage terms, unusual for a suburb now above $1.1 million median.

Safety & Crime

Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria / SA Police

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How North Plympton compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

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