Tennyson

Development Activity

Demographics

The median age of 55 sits 15 years above the national figure, the clearest signal of Tennyson's character as an established, mature-resident suburb. University qualifications reach 41.5%, which is 11.4 points above the national rate, and the occupational mix reflects this: Professionals (157) and Managers (148) are the two largest groups. Overseas-born residents at 24.3% sit 2.7 points above national, with English (414), Scottish (140) and Italian (115) ancestry leading. Average household size is 2.2, marginally below the national average, consistent with the high share of couples without children at 44.8% of all families. The volunteering rate of 17.8% is notable for a suburb of 1,137 people.

Tenure is skewed toward long-term ownership: 47% of dwellings are held outright and 33.6% carry a mortgage, leaving only 19.3% renting. This outright-ownership majority typically points to residents who bought decades ago and have since paid down debt. The stock is entirely houses and semi-detached, with separate houses at 61.3% and semi-detached at 38.7%. Bedroom sizes lean larger, with 4-plus bedroom homes at 33.1% and 3-bedroom at 37.3%. Rent-to-income at 16.5% is well below the 30% stress threshold, suggesting current renters face comfortable housing costs compared to their incomes.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

Healthcare leads local employment at 13.7% (62 workers), followed by Education at 10.4% (47) and Professional/Technical services at 9.8% (44). Construction at 9.5% and Public Administration at 8.2% complete the top five. The occupational profile is dominated by Professionals and Managers, who together account for 305 of the employed workforce, well above what share alone would suggest given the suburb's size. Unemployment is low at 2.7%, and the full-time employment rate of 63.4% is solid. However, participation at 60.2% is below typical working-age norms, consistent with a 55-year median age where a large share of the 371 residents not in the labour force are retirees rather than discouraged workers.

Source: ABS Census 2021

Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021

Transport to Work

Car dependence is pronounced: 88.6% of residents drive to work, compared to the national rate, while only 5.7% use public transport and 1.3% walk or cycle. This reflects Tennyson's compact, low-density coastal footprint with limited transit connections. Crime is low at 29.0 incidents per 1,000 residents, which on 33 total reported incidents across a population of 1,137 suggests minimal local crime activity. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring suburbs. Mortgage and rent stress are both absent: mortgage-to-income sits at 24.3% and rent-to-income at 16.5%, both below the 30% threshold, pointing to financially comfortable residents relative to their housing costs.

Growth Outlook

Residential stability is high: 81.4% of residents stayed at the same address compared to the prior year, meaning turnover is only 18.6%, which is low and constrains transaction volumes. Development activity at 16 applications in 12 months is modest, mostly renovation and extension works on existing luxury dwellings. No forecast data is available in this dataset, but the combination of high median age, high outright ownership, and low turnover suggests organic population growth will remain subdued compared to higher-density suburban markets.

Population trend: Charles Sturt council area

Tennyson sits in the Charles Sturt council area. These are the council area's residents, not Tennyson's.

ABS Estimated Resident Population by LGA, 30 June each year; council area, not this suburb

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 Tennyson compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions