76.5% ▲ +7.4%
Higher than 96% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 71.2%
- 2016: 73.3%
- 2021: 76.5%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Adelaide · Council (LGA)
Education & Qualifications in Adelaide
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Education levels have climbed steadily in Adelaide, with the share of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher rising by nearly 10 percentage points since 2011. This is a highly qualified area where 45.5% of adults have a university degree, a figure far above the national average. The result is a community where school and university achievement is exceptionally high.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Year 12 completion has grown to 76.5%, which is far above the national figure of 58.8%. This is among the highest rates for this level in the region, with the proportion of people finishing school rising by 5.3 points over the last decade.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Adelaide, Year 12 is the majority at 83%; Year 11 is next at 8%.
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Nearly half of adults, 45.5%, hold a bachelor degree or higher, which is far above the South Australian figure of 22.7%. Most of these high-level qualifications are bachelor degrees (38.7%) or postgraduate degrees (20.0%).
45.5% ▲ +27.0%
Higher than 95% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 35.8%
- 2016: 37.2%
- 2021: 45.5%
Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).
Highest qualification level
View on map →In Adelaide, the largest group is Bachelor degree at 46%, followed by Postgraduate degree (24%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (13%).
Field of study
What people studied.
Qualifications are most common in management and commerce at 22.1%, followed by society and culture at 13.8% and health at 12.2%. Engineering and related fields account for 9.1% of degrees.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Adelaide has 14 schools, which is more than 64% of similar areas, and the number of schools per 1,000 children is much higher than most places. Local schools are larger than average and have an advantage score that is much higher than most other areas.
14
Higher than 62% of council (lga) areas.
Number of schools in the area.
9.63
Higher than 86% of council (lga) areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
8,997
Higher than 75% of council (lga) areas.
Total students enrolled across the area's schools.
643
Higher than 93% of council (lga) areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
1,096
Higher than 91% of council (lga) areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Adelaide
14 schools — 8,997 students, average ICSEA 1,096.
By sector: Government 5 · Independent 5 · Catholic 4
By type: Secondary 6 · Combined 5 · Primary 3
| Adelaide High School, Adelaide | Government | Secondary | — | 1,821 | 1,094 |
| Adelaide Botanic High School, Adelaide | Government | Secondary | — | 1,258 | 1,103 |
| St Aloysius College, Adelaide | Catholic | Combined | — | 1,091 | 1,081 |
| Christian Brothers College - Senior Campus, Adelaide | Catholic | Combined | — | 990 | 1,074 |
| Pulteney Grammar School, Adelaide | Independent | Combined | — | 839 | 1,170 |
| St Mary's College, Adelaide | Catholic | Combined | — | 659 | 1,073 |
| St Dominic's Priory College, North Adelaide | Catholic | Combined | — | 658 | 1,080 |
| University Senior College at Adelaide University - Jordan Campus, Adelaide University | Independent | Secondary | — | 523 | 1,092 |
| North Adelaide Primary School, North Adelaide | Government | Primary | — | 296 | 1,144 |
| Gilles Street Primary School, Adelaide | Government | Primary | — | 275 | 1,107 |
| Specialised Assistance School For Youth (SASY), Adelaide | Independent | Secondary | — | 205 | 1,026 |
| Sturt Street Community School, Adelaide | Government | Primary | — | 162 | 1,114 |
| Youthinc. Enterprise Academy, Adelaide | Independent | Secondary | — | 129 | 1,029 |
| Muirden Senior College, Adelaide | Independent | Secondary | — | 91 | 1,079 |
Sources
More for Adelaide
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Adelaide [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA40070/adelaide/topic/education