Coonalpyn, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coonalpyn is a small town in the Murray Mallee of South Australia, about 143 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and 61 kilometres south-east of Tailem Bend, on the main road and railway line between Adelaide and the Victorian border. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word recorded as meaning 'barren woman'. The town was proclaimed in 1909 and grew as a service centre for the surrounding wheat and grazing country. Coonalpyn's best-known landmark is its grain silos, painted in 2017 by the artist Guido van Helten with huge, photo-realistic portraits of local schoolchildren — a mural that has turned a roadside stop into a destination. The town also has a hotel, a bakery and a Lutheran church dating from 1953.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Coonalpyn is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 908, 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.
Coonalpyn at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 350
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $1,025
- SEIFA score
- 908
- Coordinates
- -35.6628, 139.8672
Coonalpyn demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coonalpyn 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 mid-life (45–64) at 30%, 22% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 41 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 31 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 83 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 105 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 92 | 26% |
Share of the 352 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 70 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 33 | 21% |
| Rented | 34 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 144 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 12 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 156 occupied private dwellings in Coonalpyn.
- Median weekly rent
- $150
- Median monthly mortgage
- $522
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,437
- Median weekly personal income
- $523
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 42 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 18 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 5 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 96 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.7%
- Employed full-time
- 97
- Employed part-time
- 53
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 Coonalpyn
Where is Coonalpyn?
Coonalpyn is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Coonalpyn?
At the 2021 Census, Coonalpyn had a population of about 350.
Is Coonalpyn an advantaged area?
Coonalpyn has an ABS SEIFA score of 908, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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