Magill, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Magill is a foothills suburb about seven kilometres east of central Adelaide, straddling the City of Burnside and the City of Campbelltown near the base of the Mount Lofty Ranges. The Kaurna people, Traditional Owners of the Adelaide Plains, lived here for thousands of years among an open woodland of widely spaced gums. From 1838 the area grew as the Makgill Estate, taken up by two Scotsmen, Robert Cock and William Ferguson, who had met sailing to the new colony aboard HMS Buffalo and named it for Cock's trustee, David Makgill; the spelling softened to Magill in the late 1940s. Among the first of Adelaide's foothill villages to be subdivided, it became a district of vineyards and orchards strung along Magill Road, and it remains home to the historic Penfolds Magill Estate winery and a University of South Australia campus.
More advantaged than the national average
Magill is more socio-economically advantaged than about 76% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1034, 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.
Magill at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 9,693
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,616
- SEIFA score
- 1034
- Coordinates
- -34.9081, 138.6757
Magill demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Magill 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%, 30% of homes are rented, and 39% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,652 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,211 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,665 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,322 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,847 | 19% |
Share of the 9,697 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,255 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,210 | 31% |
| Rented | 1,149 | 30% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,670 | 69% |
| Townhouses & semis | 764 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 413 | 11% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,850 occupied private dwellings in Magill.
- Median weekly rent
- $341
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,950
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,200
- Median weekly personal income
- $781
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,699 (39%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3,378 (36%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 67 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 5,394 (70%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.1%
- Employed full-time
- 2,718
- Employed part-time
- 1,837
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.
Weather and climate in Magill
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Magill is January (average daytime high around 29.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.4°C). The area receives roughly 732 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.7°C | 17°C | 34 mm |
| Feb | 28.2°C | 16.4°C | 32 mm |
| Mar | 26°C | 15.4°C | 23 mm |
| Apr | 22.1°C | 13.5°C | 54 mm |
| May | 17.7°C | 11.2°C | 83 mm |
| Jun | 15.1°C | 9.3°C | 91 mm |
| Jul | 14.4°C | 8.5°C | 102 mm |
| Aug | 15.3°C | 8.4°C | 91 mm |
| Sep | 18°C | 9.7°C | 69 mm |
| Oct | 21.9°C | 11.5°C | 59 mm |
| Nov | 24.1°C | 13°C | 57 mm |
| Dec | 27.3°C | 15°C | 37 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Magill
Where is Magill?
Magill is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Magill?
At the 2021 Census, Magill had a population of about 9,693.
Is Magill an advantaged area?
Magill has an ABS SEIFA score of 1034, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 76 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 76% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Magill?
Magill has average daytime highs of about 21.7°C and overnight lows of about 12.4°C, with roughly 732 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Magill?
Magill is one of the most populous suburbs in South Australia — the 22nd-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 9,693 usual residents).
Where Magill ranks
Magill appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in South Australia#22 of 25
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.