Penola is a small community in South Australia within the Wattle Range local government area (postcode 5277). With a population of 1,622, the suburb has a mature demographic with a median age of 47. Households earn a median income of $71K per year, with an average household size of 2.2 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +0.1% year-on-year at the LGA level. SA employment has moved +1.6% year-on-year in the official ABS Labour Force trend series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. SA also had 21 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 7 underway, and 7 in planning as at 2025-09-01, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are managers, labourers, professionals. Employment in the area leans toward agriculture and manufacturing. The top ancestries reported are Australian, English, Scottish.
Units have a median price of $180,000. The current median weekly rent is $285. This gives a gross rental yield of approximately 8.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,050.
Penola is served by 3 schools, including 2 primary, 1 secondary. The average ICSEA score is 980, which is around the national average of 1,000. Healthcare facilities include 1 public hospital. The crime rate in the Wattle Range LGA is low at 1,788 incidents per 100,000 population.
Looking at the investment signals, The gross rental yield works out to roughly 8.2%, which reads as high yield. Property prices sit below the state median ($180K/$980K), which can point to relative value. The price-to-income ratio of 2.5x is considered affordable. House prices have moved +0.0% year-on-year. Population growth of +0.1% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.