North Adelaide flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of North Adelaide
(City of Adelaide, SA) - 5.1 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is relatively unconstrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
5.1 km² - this suburb is relatively unconstrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to North 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 North 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
53% 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
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
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 3 Oct 2026
typical observed square 5 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 500 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.
North Adelaide at a glance
How North Adelaide is zoned
Selling in North 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 5.1 km², North Adelaide is relatively unconstrained by planning overlays. About 5% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 915 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Adelaide Park Lands. The median lot measures about 143 m² across 5,532 parcels.
Who lives in North Adelaide
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the North Adelaide 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 1088, and decile 10 within South Australia. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of North Adelaide's 6,823 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of North Adelaide, the wider ABS statistical area containing North Adelaide. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than North Adelaide itself.
6,421 in 2001 to 7,516 in 2025, up 17%.
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.
North Adelaide 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) | Inside a held contour | 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 North 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 98% of North 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 North Adelaide lot.
See what's in the $9 report →North Adelaide planning - frequently asked
Is North Adelaide flood-prone?
About 5% of North Adelaide falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 7%.
Is North Adelaide bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers North Adelaide and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone.
Is North Adelaide affected by aircraft noise?
About 53% of North 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 North Adelaide under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 98% of North Adelaide, and over about 100% 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 500 ft, with an average of 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 114 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 North Adelaide?
The dominant planning zone in North Adelaide is Adelaide Park Lands, though the suburb also includes City Living and City Main Street.
Does North Adelaide have heritage-listed places?
North Adelaide has 915 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in North Adelaide?
Across 5,532 surveyed parcels in North Adelaide, the median lot size is about 143 m².
Does North Adelaide have a train station?
There is no train station inside North Adelaide itself. The suburb is served by 79 bus stops.
What is the population of North Adelaide?
At the 2021 Census North Adelaide had 6,823 usual residents, with a median age of 39 and an average household size of 1.9 people. The wider North Adelaide statistical area, which contains North Adelaide, went from 6,421 people in 2001 to 7,516 in 2025, up 17%.
Is North Adelaide an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), North Adelaide scores 1088 and sits in decile 10 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 North Adelaide?
Median household income in North Adelaide was $1,867 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,616 for the typical suburb in City of Adelaide. Median rent was $390 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,914 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorngate City of Prospect |
1.3 km | 3% | 0% |
| Fitzroy City of Prospect |
1.4 km | 3% | 0% |
| Ovingham City of Charles Sturt |
1.4 km | 75% | 0% |
| Medindie The Corporation of the Town of Walkerville |
1.5 km | 0% | 0% |
| Bowden City of Charles Sturt |
1.5 km | 17% | 0% |
| Southwark City of West Torrens |
1.7 km | 5% | 0% |
| Gilberton The Corporation of the Town of Walkerville |
1.8 km | 6% | 0% |
| Adelaide | 1.9 km | 9% | 0% |
| Hackney The City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters |
2.1 km | 20% | 0% |
| Brompton City of Charles Sturt |
2.1 km | 26% | 0% |