Tailem Bend, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tailem Bend is a town in the Murraylands of South Australia, standing above the lower River Murray about 85 kilometres south-east of Adelaide, not far from where the river spills into Lake Alexandrina. It is on the Country of the Ngarrindjeri people, and its name comes from a Ngarrindjeri word said to describe the sharp bend the river makes here. The town began in 1884 as a railway camp known as Pine Camp, and was proclaimed Tailem Bend when the line opened in 1887; for decades it was a busy railway centre, with a large roundhouse servicing locomotives. Today it is a quiet river town better known for its cable ferry across the Murray, the pioneer buildings of Old Tailem Town, and The Bend Motorsport Park, which opened nearby in 2018.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Tailem Bend is more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 827, 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.
Tailem Bend at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,705
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $905
- SEIFA score
- 827
- Coordinates
- -35.2811, 139.5364
Tailem Bend demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tailem Bend 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 28%, 23% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 242 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 204 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 319 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 477 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 475 | 28% |
Share of the 1,717 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 283 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 223 | 32% |
| Rented | 157 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 652 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 31 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 693 occupied private dwellings in Tailem Bend.
- Median weekly rent
- $225
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,202
- Median weekly personal income
- $506
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 115 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 31 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 65 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 384 (27%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.2%
- Employed full-time
- 292
- Employed part-time
- 262
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 Tailem Bend
Where is Tailem Bend?
Tailem Bend is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Tailem Bend?
At the 2021 Census, Tailem Bend had a population of about 1,705.
Is Tailem Bend an advantaged area?
Tailem Bend has an ABS SEIFA score of 827, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 3 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of Australian suburbs.
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