Adelaide flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Adelaide (City of Adelaide, SA) - 10.39 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is relatively unconstrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Adelaide's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Adelaide

Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.

Inside an aircraft noise contour

6%

6% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.

Highest contour present

ANEF 25

Under AS 2021, land between ANEF 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.

Contours held

  • SA Planning and Design Code aircraft noise

Adelaide at a glance

Parcels 24,971 Median lot 68 m² Bus stops 225 Tram stops 14

How Adelaide is zoned

Adelaide Park Lands 55%
Capital City 22%
City Riverbank 8%
City Living 8%
City Main Street 4%
Urban Corridor (Boulevard) 2%

Selling in Adelaide? The zone and overlays on this page are the Planning and Design Code controls a Form 1 vendor's statement has to disclose.

Across its 10.39 km², Adelaide is relatively unconstrained by planning overlays. About 9% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 1054 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Adelaide Park Lands. The median lot measures about 68 m² across 24,971 parcels.

Who lives in Adelaide

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Adelaide suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
18,202
usual residents, 2021
Median age
31
years
Median household income
$1,365
per week, City of Adelaide suburb typical $1,616
Median rent
$400
per week, City of Adelaide suburb typical $395
Median mortgage
$1,733
per month
Household size
1.8
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1045, and decile 9 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 4
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Adelaide's 18,202 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 1.7%
5-14 3.4%
15-19 4.6%
20-24 20.4%
25-34 27.3%
35-44 13.2%
45-54 9.1%
55-64 8.5%
65-74 7.6%
75-84 3.3%
85+ 0.8%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Adelaide, the wider ABS statistical area containing Adelaide. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Adelaide itself.

6,790 in 2001 to 22,657 in 2025, up 234%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

Adelaide data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data
ZoningMappedthe South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Inside a held contourthe South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)

Profile last materially updated 26 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific Adelaide address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 75% of Adelaide. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Adelaide lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Adelaide planning - frequently asked

Is Adelaide flood-prone?

About 9% of Adelaide falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 7%.

Is Adelaide bushfire-prone?

Bushfire mapping covers Adelaide and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone.

Is Adelaide affected by aircraft noise?

About 6% of Adelaide sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.

Is Adelaide under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 75% of Adelaide, and over about 99% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 26 Sep 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 1,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 134 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in Adelaide?

The dominant planning zone in Adelaide is Adelaide Park Lands, though the suburb also includes Capital City and City Riverbank.

Does Adelaide have heritage-listed places?

Adelaide has 1054 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Adelaide?

Across 24,971 surveyed parcels in Adelaide, the median lot size is about 68 m².

Does Adelaide have a train station?

There is no train station inside Adelaide itself. The suburb is served by 225 bus stops and 14 tram stops.

What is the population of Adelaide?

At the 2021 Census Adelaide had 18,202 usual residents, with a median age of 31 and an average household size of 1.8 people. The wider Adelaide statistical area, which contains Adelaide, went from 6,790 people in 2001 to 22,657 in 2025, up 234%.

Is Adelaide an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Adelaide scores 1045 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Adelaide?

Median household income in Adelaide was $1,365 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,616 for the typical suburb in City of Adelaide. Median rent was $400 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Kent Town
The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters
1.8 km 29% 0%
North Adelaide 1.9 km 5% 0%
Hackney
The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters
2.1 km 20% 0%
Keswick Terminal
City of West Torrens
2.2 km 27% 0%
Wayville
City of Unley
2.4 km 39% 0%
College Park
The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters
2.4 km 32% 0%
Unley
City of Unley
2.5 km 39% 0%
Rose Park
City of Burnside
2.6 km 0% 0%
Southwark
City of West Torrens
2.6 km 5% 0%
Mile End South
City of West Torrens
2.7 km 80% 0%

See all City of Adelaide suburb profiles →