Houghton flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Houghton
(Adelaide Hills Council, SA) - 4.08 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
4.08 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Houghton's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. 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 Houghton
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.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 3 Oct 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 3,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Houghton at a glance
How Houghton is zoned
Selling in Houghton? 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 4.08 km², Houghton is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 2% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 4 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Productive Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 3,650 m² across 232 parcels.
Who lives in Houghton
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Houghton suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1055, and decile 10 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Houghton's 511 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Adelaide Hills, the wider ABS statistical area containing Houghton. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Houghton itself.
6,763 in 2001 to 7,256 in 2025, up 7%.
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.
Houghton data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the South Australian Planning and Design Code and Location SA spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 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 Houghton 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 52% of Houghton. 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 Houghton lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Houghton planning - frequently asked
Is Houghton flood-prone?
About 2% of Houghton falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 1%.
Is Houghton bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Houghton is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Adelaide Hills Council average of 100%.
Is Houghton under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 52% of Houghton, and over about 71% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 3 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,000 ft, with an average of 3,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 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 Houghton?
The dominant planning zone in Houghton is Productive Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Township.
Does Houghton have heritage-listed places?
Houghton has 4 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Houghton?
Across 232 surveyed parcels in Houghton, the median lot size is about 3,650 m².
Does Houghton have a train station?
There is no train station inside Houghton itself. The suburb is served by 1 bus stop.
What is the population of Houghton?
At the 2021 Census Houghton had 511 usual residents, with a median age of 50 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Adelaide Hills statistical area, which contains Houghton, went from 6,763 people in 2001 to 7,256 in 2025, up 7%.
Is Houghton an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Houghton scores 1055 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within South Australia (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Houghton?
Median household income in Houghton was $2,356 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,089 for the typical suburb in Adelaide Hills Council. Median rent was $373 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,970 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paracombe | 1.9 km | 3% | 100% |
| Tea Tree Gully City of Tea Tree Gully |
2.1 km | 11% | 82% |
| Vista City of Tea Tree Gully |
2.6 km | 14% | 99% |
| Banksia Park City of Tea Tree Gully |
3.3 km | 15% | 57% |
| Upper Hermitage | 3.9 km | 10% | 100% |
| Fairview Park City of Tea Tree Gully |
4.1 km | 12% | 36% |
| Yatala Vale City of Tea Tree Gully |
4.3 km | 39% | 89% |
| St Agnes City of Tea Tree Gully |
4.4 km | 25% | <1% |
| Highbury City of Tea Tree Gully |
4.4 km | 17% | 66% |
| Lower Hermitage | 4.5 km | 0% | 100% |