Penola, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Penola is a small town on South Australia's Limestone Coast, about 390 kilometres south-east of Adelaide, on the country of the Bindjali people. It holds a special place in Australian history as the town where Mary MacKillop — canonised in 2010 as the country's first saint — and the priest Julian Tenison Woods opened a school in 1866 and founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, a teaching order that spread across the nation. Penola is also the gateway to the Coonawarra, one of Australia's best-known wine regions, whose first vines were planted nearby by John Riddoch in the late nineteenth century. Heritage cottages and the original MacKillop schoolhouse still stand in its quiet streets.
Less advantaged than the national average
Penola is more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 945, 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.
Penola at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,622
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,369
- SEIFA score
- 945
- Coordinates
- -37.3943, 140.8834
Penola demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Penola 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 29%, 22% of homes are rented, and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 282 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 141 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 345 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 472 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 387 | 24% |
Share of the 1,627 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 257 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 209 | 32% |
| Rented | 144 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 574 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 43 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 639 occupied private dwellings in Penola.
- Median weekly rent
- $198
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,050
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,865
- Median weekly personal income
- $804
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 138 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 57 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 17 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 564 (44%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.3%
- Employed full-time
- 504
- Employed part-time
- 264
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 Penola
Where is Penola?
Penola is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Penola?
At the 2021 Census, Penola had a population of about 1,622.
Is Penola an advantaged area?
Penola has an ABS SEIFA score of 945, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 27 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.