Seacliff
At a median age of 46, Seacliff's residents are 6 years older than the national figure, a gap that shapes everything from the housing stock to the employment profile. The suburb's 2,117 residents earn household incomes at the 72.2nd percentile nationally, and 49.1% hold university qualifications, which is 19 percentage points above the national average. With 42.2% of dwellings owned outright, the area is clearly anchored by long-term, established residents rather than recent buyers stretching to enter the market.
Local council: Holdfast Bay
Population
2,117
Median Age
46.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,931/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
47
Median House
$1.7M
First quarter 2026
Separate houses make up 66.3% of the stock and three-bedroom dwellings account for 49.3%, giving buyers a conventional family-home choice in most cases. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,950, which translates to a mortgage-to-income ratio of 23.3%, below the 30% stress threshold, suggesting current owners are relatively comfortable. With 42.2% owned outright and 33.7% under mortgage, this is a suburb dominated by owners rather than renters.
For Buyers
Separate houses make up 66.3% of the stock and three-bedroom dwellings account for 49.3%, giving buyers a conventional family-home choice in most cases. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,950, which translates to a mortgage-to-income ratio of 23.3%, below the 30% stress threshold, suggesting current owners are relatively comfortable. With 42.2% owned outright and 33.7% under mortgage, this is a suburb dominated by owners rather than renters.
For Investors
The rental market here is modest in depth: only 24.1% of dwellings are rented and weekly rent sits at $350, lower than comparable coastal suburbs. The 7.3% vacancy rate is elevated and should give pause before purchase, as it suggests more rental supply than current demand absorbs. On the positive side, 49 development applications lodged in the past 12 months show active owner improvement activity, and the 26.4% price increase over one year indicates genuine capital momentum. Investors focused on long-term appreciation rather than rental income will find more support in this data than those chasing yield.
Development Activity
Total DAs
221
Last 12 Months
47
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+56.7%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Seacliff
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Seacliff Primary School
Demographics
Seacliff skews older and more educated than state or national norms. The median age of 46 is 6 years above the national figure, and 77.6% of residents have lived at the same address for at least five years, pointing to a settled, low-turnover community. University qualifications reach 49.1%, which is 19 points above the national average, and the top occupations are Professionals (343 workers) and Managers (176), consistent with that educational profile. Overseas-born residents at 23.8% sit 2.2 percentage points above the national figure. Ancestry is predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with English (999), Irish (262) and Scottish (255) leading. Couple families are the dominant household type, split roughly between couples with children (625) and couples without (578).
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
66.3%
Houses
19.9%
Townhouse
13.5%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure data tells a clear story: 42.2% of Seacliff dwellings are owned outright and 33.7% carry a mortgage, while only 24.1% are rented, skewing well below the national renter share. This ownership-heavy profile is consistent with an older, financially established population. Separate houses dominate at 66.3%, with semi-detached at 19.9% and apartments at 13.5%. Three-bedroom dwellings account for 49.3%, the modal size, followed by two-bedroom at 24.6% and four-plus bedroom at 23.9%. Average household size of 2.4 is just below the national figure, reflecting the high proportion of couples without children.
Mortgage / mo
$1,950
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$350
Census 2021
HH Size
2.4
Personal Income / wk
$948
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
7.3%
Unoccupied
67
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
18.1%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
23.3%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
39.0%
Couples with children
46.3%
Couples, no children
13.8%
Single parent
629
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare is the dominant employer, accounting for 21.5% of local workers (175 people), well above the national industry share. Education comes second at 15.2% (124 workers) and Professional/Technical services third at 11.0% (90 workers), making the local economy heavily service and knowledge-oriented. The full-time employment rate is 59.8%, and unemployment sits at 4.7%, broadly in line with state levels. Participation at 58.8% reflects the older population, with 596 residents not in the labour force. Family weekly income of $2,364 and household weekly income of $1,931 place the suburb at the 72.2nd percentile nationally. SEIFA scores are not available for this suburb in the current dataset, so relative advantage ranking cannot be confirmed from that index.
Unemployment
4.4%
Labour Force
1,115
Unemployed
49
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
56.0%
Part-time
37.7%
Participation
62.5%
Employed
1,066
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
49.1%
Postgraduate
14.3%
Born Overseas
23.8%
Dwellings
839
Transport to Work
Car dependency is high at 83.5% of commuters driving, while 10.0% use public transport and just 2.2% walk or cycle, which is typical for a coastal suburban location south of Adelaide's CBD. Safety indicators are favourable: the crime rate of 27.9 incidents per 1,000 residents is low relative to metropolitan Adelaide. Rent-to-income at 18.1% and mortgage-to-income at 23.3% both sit comfortably below stress thresholds, suggesting the resident base is not financially stretched by housing costs. Volunteering at 22.9% is notably high compared to national norms, reflecting the settled, community-invested older demographic. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families depend on nearby schools in adjacent 5049 postcode catchment areas.
Drive
67.3%
Public Transport
8.0%
Walk / Cycle
1.8%
Work from Home
19.4%
Growth Outlook
The 26.4% house price increase from 1Q 2025 to 1Q 2026 is the most striking growth signal in the brief, though a single-year move should be interpreted with caution compared to longer-term trends. The suburb's 2,117 residents occupy a very small 0.73 km2 footprint, meaning supply constraints are structural rather than cyclical, which gives capital growth a firmer floor than in suburbs with room to expand. The 22.4% turnover rate is relatively low, meaning most residents are long-term holders not flipping for profit. Development activity at 49 applications in 12 months is predominantly renovation and improvement rather than new supply, consistent with an established area upgrading its existing stock rather than adding dwellings.
Population trend: Holdfast Bay council area
Seacliff sits in the Holdfast Bay council area. These are the council area's residents, not Seacliff's.
Residents 2025
39,683
Growth, 5 yr average
+1.0%/yr
2020 to 2025
Growth, last year
+0.8%
2024 to 2025
ABS Estimated Resident Population by LGA, 30 June each year; council area, not this suburb
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
59
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
27.9
Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria / SA Police
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Seacliff compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Seacliff a good suburb to live in?
Seacliff ranks well on several quality-of-life measures. Household income sits at the 72.2nd percentile nationally, the crime rate is 27.9 per 1,000 residents, and both rent-to-income (18.1%) and mortgage-to-income (23.3%) are below stress thresholds. University qualifications at 49.1% are 19 points above the national average, reflecting a well-educated, established community.
What schools are in Seacliff?
No schools are recorded within the Seacliff suburb boundary in this dataset. Families rely on schools in surrounding 5049 postcode suburbs. The local adult population is highly educated, with 49.1% holding university qualifications, which is 19 percentage points above the national figure.
Is Seacliff safe?
Seacliff recorded 59 total crimes in the reference period, giving a rate of 27.9 incidents per 1,000 residents. That figure is low relative to greater Adelaide. The suburb also has a 22.9% volunteering rate and 77.6% of residents have not moved in the past 5 years, both indicators of a stable, engaged local population.
How is Seacliff's population changing?
Seacliff has a small, stable population of 2,117 in a 0.73 km2 area. A low turnover rate of 22.4% means 77.6% of residents have not moved in five or more years. The median age of 46 is 6 years above the national figure, indicating an aging-in-place trajectory rather than high inbound migration.
How much development is happening in Seacliff?
There were 49 development applications lodged in the past 12 months. Recent applications include garages, re-roofing and swimming pool works, consistent with owners upgrading existing dwellings rather than building new ones. Given the small 0.73 km2 footprint, large-scale new supply is structurally limited, which supports the price floor.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), SA Department for Housing and Urban Development (house prices), state education open registers (school locations), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications).
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