Median price trend for houses
Based on 28 sales in the preceding 12 months
$510,000
Up 32.5% over 12 months
- 3 bed
- $500k
- 4 bed
- $640k
Aerial view
Imagery © Esri
The quick read on
Penola
SA 5277 · Wattle Range
What homes cost, how rents have moved, and a feel for the people who call it home.
- Median house
- $510,000
- Median unit
- $300,000
- Population
- 1,622
- Postcode
- 5277
latest suburb median
latest suburb median
ABS 2021
Penola, South Australia
Property market insights for Penola
Median sale price and rental income of properties in Penola SA
Median rent trend for houses
Based on 7 rental listings in the preceding 12 months
$350 per week
Down 12.5% over 12 months
Market data updated October 2026.
The median house price in Penola, SA is currently $510,000, based on the latest 12 months of sales. Penola has a 12-month growth rate of 32.5% for houses.
Three-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $500,000, Four-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $640,000 in Penola.
If you're looking to lease, the median rent for houses in Penola is $350 per week. The median house rent has decreased 12.5% over the last 12 months.
The median price of apartments and units for sale in Penola is $300,000. Two-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $275,000 in Penola.
Crime and safety
Is Penola safe?
The overall rate for Penola is 1,418 offences per 100,000 residents — 54% below the Rest of SA benchmark.
That is the clearest suburb-wide answer. Open the detailed profile to see how the pattern changes across offence types and different parts of Penola.
Overall crime rate
1,418
offences per 100,000 residents
54% belowRest of SA
PenolaRest of SA: 3,055
Suburb-wide estimate from Microburbs' public crime model; it is not an address-level measure.
The people behind the postcode
Who lives in Penola?
Penola SA 5277 is in South Australia, within Rest of SA.
1,622 people call Penola home, with an average of 2.2 people per household and a median household income of $1,369 a week.
Public ABS 2021 Census figures. The bars compare the local share with the capital-region benchmark.
- Population
- 1,622
- Median age
- 47 years
- Median mortgage
- $1,050 / month
- 2021 household rent
- $198 / week
Above the benchmarkBelow the benchmarkIn lineRest of SA benchmark
Age profile
Share of residents in each age band.
Under 1517.4%Above
15–3419.3%Below
35–5424.6%Above
55–7429.5%Above
75 and over9.5%Below
Homes
Share of occupied private dwellings.
Separate houses89.1%Above
Townhouses6.7%Below
Apartments1.2%Below
Ownership
Share of homes with a stated ownership or rental status.
Owned outright42.1%In line
Paying a mortgage34.3%Above
Renting23.6%Below
Cars at home
Vehicles available to occupied households.
No car1.9%Below
One car36.5%Above
Two cars40.7%Above
Three or more21.4%Below
Getting to work
Selected ways residents worked or travelled on Census day.
Worked from home7.9%Below
Drove to work70.1%Above
Train, tram or bus0.5%In line
Walked or cycled4.1%Below
What stands out in Penola
7.9% of workers in Penola worked from home on Census day.
46.9% of people in Penola described themselves as having no religion in the 2021 Census.
A closer look at the Census
Questions people ask about Penola
Open any question for a plain-English reading of the public 2021 Census for Penola SA 5277.
Is Penola family-friendly?Age, family structure and household size describe the community families would be joining.
17.4% of Penola's residents were children under 15 in the 2021 Census. That is close to the Rest of SA average.
417 family households lived in Penola; 37.9% were couple families and 11.0% were one-parent families.
36.5% of local families included children under 15. That is somewhat above the Rest of SA average.
These are suburb-wide household figures, not school or childcare ratings.
What is the age profile of Penola?The balance between younger adults, families and older residents changes how a suburb feels day to day.
Penola had 1,622 residents at the 2021 Census.
21.3% of residents were aged 25 to 44.
39.0% were 55 or older. That is close to the Rest of SA average.
Age shares use the suburb’s total Census population.
What kind of homes are in Penola?The dwelling mix shows whether the suburb is mostly detached homes, townhouses or apartments.
Separate houses made up 89.1% of occupied private dwellings in Penola.
Townhouses and other attached homes represented 6.7% of occupied private dwellings.
Flats and apartments accounted for 1.2% of occupied private dwellings.
All three shares use occupied private dwellings as the denominator.
Do people own or rent in Penola?Tenure shows how many households own outright, have a mortgage or rent.
42.1% of households with a stated tenure owned their home outright. That is almost exactly typical for Rest of SA.
34.3% were buying their home with a mortgage.
23.6% rented their home. That is close to the Rest of SA average.
Tenure shares include households that stated one of these three arrangements.
How large are households in Penola?Household-size data shows the mix behind the suburb-wide average.
The average household in Penola had 2.2 people.
One-person households made up 33.3% of occupied homes. That is close to the Rest of SA average.
Two-person households represented 36.6%, while 17.4% had four or more usual residents.
Household size counts usual residents in occupied homes.
How do people get to work in Penola?Census-day travel shows the balance between home, road, public transport and active travel.
7.9% of workers worked from home on Census day. That is close to the Rest of SA average.
70.1% drove a car as their only travel method. That is somewhat above the Rest of SA average.
0.5% used only a train, tram or bus, while 4.1% walked or cycled.
Travel figures are a 2021 Census-day snapshot.
How many cars do households have in Penola?Vehicle availability helps describe the routines local households can support.
1.9% of occupied households had no motor vehicle available. That is about half the Rest of SA rate.
One-car households formed 36.5% of the total.
62.1% of households had two or more vehicles.
Vehicle counts refer to occupied households, not individual residents.
Who's moving to Penola, and who stays?Address history shows how settled or recently mobile residents were at the Census date.
62.9% were at the same address five years earlier, while 37.1% reported a different address.
8.5% of residents were born outside Australia. That is somewhat below the Rest of SA average.
Mobility figures cover residents who answered the relevant Census question.
What languages are spoken in Penola?Language at home gives a direct view of the community’s everyday linguistic mix.
90.1% of residents used only English at home.
3.5% used a language other than English at home.
0.7% spoke Mandarin at home, 0.0% spoke Cantonese and 0.0% spoke Hindi.
Home language is separate from English proficiency.
Where were Penola residents born?Birthplace adds another layer to the local story, separate from ancestry and language.
8.5% of Penola's population was born outside Australia, while roughly 91.5% was born in Australia.
0.2% of residents were born in China.
0.4% were born in India, while Australian citizenship across the whole suburb stood at 90.5%.
Birthplace, citizenship and ancestry describe different parts of identity.
What ancestries shape Penola?Ancestry responses show how residents describe family and cultural background.
English ancestry accounted for 39.8% of ancestry responses in Penola.
Australian ancestry made up 45.8% of responses.
Chinese ancestry represented 1.0% of responses.
People may nominate more than one ancestry, so these are shares of responses.
What work do people do in Penola?Occupation describes a person’s role; industry describes the sector employing them.
13.6% of employed residents worked in professional occupations. That is almost exactly typical for Rest of SA.
Managers accounted for 20.2% of employed residents, while clerical and administrative workers made up 8.2%.
Health care and social assistance employed 9.0% of workers, and education and training employed 7.8%.
Occupation and industry figures describe employed residents of the suburb.
How active is the workforce in Penola?Participation, employment pattern and unemployment describe the resident labour force.
The labour-force participation rate was 62.9%, compared with 54.1% across Rest of SA.
37.6% of residents aged 15 and over worked full time, while 19.7% worked part time.
Unemployment was 2.3%, compared with 4.8% across Rest of SA.
Labour-force figures come from the 2021 Census.
What does the health profile of Penola show?Selected long-term health conditions help describe community service needs.
58.2% reported no selected long-term health condition.
8.1% reported a long-term mental health condition, including depression or anxiety.
8.6% reported asthma, 11.0% arthritis and 5.9% diabetes excluding gestational diabetes.
These are self-reported suburb-wide Census figures, not address-level health risks.
How educated is Penola?Qualifications describe the study pathways represented among local residents.
20.2% of people in the qualifications table held a bachelor degree. That is somewhat above the Rest of SA average.
Postgraduate degrees accounted for 2.7% of qualification responses.
Diploma-level qualifications represented 14.5%, while certificate-level qualifications represented 40.3%.
Qualification categories are reported separately and are not school ratings.
What do incomes and housing costs look like in Penola?Census income and household payments give historical context for local living costs.
Median household income was $1,369 per week in the 2021 Census.
The median monthly mortgage repayment reported by local households was $1,050.
Occupied renting households reported a median rent of $198 per week.
These household figures are from 2021; current sale and asking-rent medians appear in the market section.
How does Penola compare with Rest of SA?A few clear differences place the suburb in its wider metropolitan context.
Working from home was 7.9% in Penola, compared with 8.9% across Rest of SA.
Outright ownership was 42.1% locally and 41.6% across Rest of SA. That is almost exactly typical for Rest of SA.
Renting accounted for 23.6% in Penola, against 26.0% across Rest of SA.
Capital-region comparisons use the same Census definitions and year.
Three useful questions
A buyer’s quick guide to Penola
Is Penola expensive?
The median house price is $510,000, while units and apartments sit at $300,000. Bedroom count, land and condition still create a wide range around those suburb medians.
Is Penola good for families?
The Census counted 417 local families, and 17.4% of residents were under 15. That describes the community; school quality, travel times and the right fit for a particular family need separate research.
What can I get for $1.5m in Penola?
4-bedroom houses have a median around $640,000, the closest bedroom benchmark we hold to a $1.5m budget. Individual homes can differ substantially with block size, renovation and location.
Medians describe recorded market activity across the suburb; they are historical context, not a valuation or forecast for an individual home.
Explore the area
Streets and suburbs around Penola
77 streets in Penola
Street-by-street reports are not published yet. The streets below are the ones this suburb covers.
- Abbey Rd
- Alfred St
- Anonymous Ln
- Arthur St
- Blight Rd
- Bond Rd
- Border Rd
- Bowden St
- Cameron St
- Casterton Rd
- Chinamans Lane
- Church St
- Clarke St
- Clayfield St
- Clay Wells Rd
- Cupnum Ln
- Darwent St
- Davis Cr
Show all 77 streetsShow fewer streets
- Dergholm Rd
- Elizabeth St
- Ellen Street
- Gardiner St
- Gibson St
- Gordon St
- Haines Rd
- Hetherington Ave
- Hetherington Rd
- Hinze Ln
- Hotel Paddock Rd
- Jessie St
- John St
- Julian St
- Julian St West
- Katnook Ln
- Kidman Ln
- Kidman Pl
- Krongart Rd
- Lizzie St
- Maaoupe Rd
- March Ct
- Marks Rd
- May Tce
- Mcarthur St
- Mcpherson St
- Messenger Rd
- Miamba Cl
- Millers Ln
- Millicent Rd
- Mount Burr Rd
- Mountford Ln
- Neilson St
- Old Cemetery Rd
- Old Comaum Rd
- Old Portland Rd
- Petticoat Ln
- Portland St
- Prelc Rd
- Queen St
- Racecourse Rd
- Ralston St
- Ravenswood Ln
- Reilly Rd
- Riddoch Hwy
- Riddoch St
- Robe Rd
- Roden Ln
- Rymill Rd
- Scott St
- Shanks St
- Shepherds Ln
- South Tce
- Three Mile Ln
- Tower Rd
- V&A Ln
- Weirs Ln
- Winter Rd
- Young St
12 suburbs surrounding Penola
Compare nearby suburb prices, rents and five-year market trends.
Keep exploring
Is Penola right for your search?
Use the finders to compare places and properties, or open the full report when you need the street, risk, schools and growth research.
Read the thinking
Figures update as new market and census data arrives. This suburb overview is general information, not a valuation or financial advice.