Keith, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Keith is a service town in the Tatiara district of South Australia's Upper South East, about 225 kilometres south-east of Adelaide where the Dukes and Riddoch highways meet. First surveyed in 1884 as Mount Monster, after a nearby granite outcrop, it was renamed Keith in 1889 — most likely after the Scottish home of Lord Kintore, then Governor of South Australia. For decades the surrounding heath was considered poor 'desert' country, until CSIRO research in the 1940s showed that adding tiny amounts of trace elements could make the land productive, opening it up to farming. Keith now calls itself the lucerne capital of Australia and supports grain, grazing and a growing olive industry.
Less advantaged than the national average
Keith is more socio-economically advantaged than about 25% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 940, 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.
Keith at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,405
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,294
- SEIFA score
- 940
- Coordinates
- -36.1435, 140.3426
Keith demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Keith 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 27%, 23% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 260 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 152 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 308 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 375 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 308 | 22% |
Share of the 1,403 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 222 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 182 | 33% |
| Rented | 126 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 547 | 99% |
| Townhouses & semis | 7 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 554 occupied private dwellings in Keith.
- Median weekly rent
- $180
- Median monthly mortgage
- $773
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,754
- Median weekly personal income
- $746
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 95 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 26 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 19 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 422 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.1%
- Employed full-time
- 430
- Employed part-time
- 244
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 Keith
Where is Keith?
Keith is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Keith?
At the 2021 Census, Keith had a population of about 1,405.
Is Keith an advantaged area?
Keith has an ABS SEIFA score of 940, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 25 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 25% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.