Bordertown, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bordertown lies in the Tatiara district of South Australia's Upper South East, on the Dukes Highway about 250 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and not far from the Victorian border. Its name reflects its origins: in 1852 the police officer Alexander Tolmer was told to lay out a staging point close to the border for the gold escort carrying bullion from the Victorian diggings to Adelaide, and the first land was sold that August. The word Tatiara is said to mean good country in the local Aboriginal language. The town is the birthplace of former prime minister Bob Hawke and is well known for the rare white kangaroos bred at its wildlife park. Grain growing and livestock underpin the district, and a large meatworks is now the major employer.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Bordertown is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Bordertown at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,095
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,439
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Coordinates
- -36.3208, 140.7849
Bordertown demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bordertown using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 27%, 26% of homes are rented, and 22% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 526 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 344 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 829 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 713 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 675 | 22% |
Share of the 3,087 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 394 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 418 | 36% |
| Rented | 300 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,079 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 72 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,174 occupied private dwellings in Bordertown.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $884
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,784
- Median weekly personal income
- $819
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 622 (22%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 512 (17%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 49 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 955 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 64.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,028
- Employed part-time
- 480
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Bordertown
Where is Bordertown?
Bordertown is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Bordertown?
At the 2021 Census, Bordertown had a population of about 3,095.
Is Bordertown an advantaged area?
Bordertown has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
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