Millswood, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Millswood is a gracious inner-southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley, named after the Scotsman Samuel Mills, who reached the colony in 1839 and farmed land he called Ravenswood. Goodwood Road runs through the heart of the suburb on its way to the city, while the Belair railway line skirts its edge; the local Millswood station closed in the 1990s but was reopened in 2014. Sport and leisure shape much of the suburb's character, from the croquet, lawn bowls and tennis clubs to the broad green of Goodwood Oval with its heritage grandstand. Tucked within the fork of the railway lines is SASMEE Park, home to the South Australian Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, whose miniature trains have delighted local families for generations.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Millswood is more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1128, 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.
Millswood at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,173
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $2,836
- SEIFA score
- 1128
- Coordinates
- -34.9573, 138.5897
Millswood demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Millswood 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%, 14% of homes are rented, and 17% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 382 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 298 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 388 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 645 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 463 | 21% |
Share of the 2,176 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 399 | 51% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 270 | 34% |
| Rented | 109 | 14% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 709 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 44 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 38 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 794 occupied private dwellings in Millswood.
- Median weekly rent
- $420
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,253
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,447
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,171
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 365 (17%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 221 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 9 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,288 (77%)
- Labour-force participation
- 64.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.8%
- Employed full-time
- 647
- Employed part-time
- 423
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 Millswood
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Millswood is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 14°C). The area receives roughly 711 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 17.5°C | 29 mm |
| Feb | 26.5°C | 17°C | 29 mm |
| Mar | 24.7°C | 16°C | 20 mm |
| Apr | 21.4°C | 14°C | 51 mm |
| May | 17.3°C | 11.7°C | 86 mm |
| Jun | 14.8°C | 9.6°C | 100 mm |
| Jul | 14°C | 8.9°C | 104 mm |
| Aug | 14.7°C | 8.8°C | 95 mm |
| Sep | 17.2°C | 10.2°C | 62 mm |
| Oct | 20.5°C | 11.9°C | 52 mm |
| Nov | 22.7°C | 13.6°C | 52 mm |
| Dec | 25.6°C | 15.6°C | 31 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Millswood
Where is Millswood?
Millswood is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Millswood?
At the 2021 Census, Millswood had a population of about 2,173.
Is Millswood an advantaged area?
Millswood has an ABS SEIFA score of 1128, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 98 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Millswood?
Millswood has average daytime highs of about 20.6°C and overnight lows of about 12.9°C, with roughly 711 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Millswood have high household incomes?
Millswood has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in South Australia — the 6th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($2,836 per week).
Where Millswood ranks
Millswood appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
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