Victor Harbor, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Victor Harbor is the largest town on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula, about 80 km south of Adelaide on Encounter Bay. It sits on the traditional lands of the Ramindjeri, a clan of the Ngarrindjeri people. A causeway links the town to Granite Island, crossed by a restored horse-drawn tram, and the bay is one of the country's better-known places to watch southern right whales as they calve through winter — a story told at the local South Australian Whale Centre. The town takes its name from HMS Victor, a Royal Navy ship that surveyed the bay in 1837, and the unusual 'Harbor' spelling preserves an older English form.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Victor Harbor is more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 899, 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.
Victor Harbor at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,520
- Median age
- 59
- Median weekly household income
- $882
- SEIFA score
- 899
- Coordinates
- -35.5469, 138.6112
Victor Harbor demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Victor Harbor 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 seniors (65+) at 41%, 28% of homes are rented, and 19% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 537 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 330 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 679 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,139 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,838 | 41% |
Share of the 4,523 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 907 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 436 | 21% |
| Rented | 583 | 28% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,538 | 73% |
| Townhouses & semis | 408 | 19% |
| Flats & apartments | 107 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,096 occupied private dwellings in Victor Harbor.
- Median weekly rent
- $267
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,203
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,244
- Median weekly personal income
- $536
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 834 (19%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 158 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 73 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,554 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 39.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.8%
- Employed full-time
- 621
- Employed part-time
- 754
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 Victor Harbor
Where is Victor Harbor?
Victor Harbor is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Victor Harbor?
At the 2021 Census, Victor Harbor had a population of about 4,520.
Is Victor Harbor an advantaged area?
Victor Harbor has an ABS SEIFA score of 899, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 12 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of Australian suburbs.
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