Smoky Bay crime rate and Crime Score · South Australia
Smoky Bay is a suburb in the Ceduna council area of South Australia (about 3,757 residents in the council). The council has a Crime Score 75 out of 100 (high), 43rd of 362 councils nationally.
Modelled estimate, not police figures: Smoky Bay (216 residents at the 2021 Census) is estimated to account for about 43 of the offences recorded each year in the Ceduna council area (likely 21 to 71), roughly 20,000 per 100,000 residents, including about 10 violent offences (likely 5 to 16). Ranges are 80% intervals; confidence 38 of 100. The estimate shares the council's published total (2025-26, three-year average) between its suburbs using a model trained on South Australia's suburb-level police data and ABS measures of each suburb's population and socio-economic profile.
The score blends national percentile ranks for each published offence category with fixed severity weights; here it is driven most by assault (94th percentile), break-ins (98th percentile), homicide (97th percentile). Five years earlier the same basis gave 68.
In 2025-26: violent 8,384 per 100,000 (+44% vs five years earlier); property 14,772 per 100,000 (+15% vs five years earlier); break-ins 3,513 per 100,000 (-9% vs five years earlier); theft 4,472 per 100,000 (+5% vs five years earlier). For violent crime that is 4th of 69 South Australia councils with data, highest first.
Unemployment in the Ceduna council area is 4.5% (South Australia 5.4%), Census, 10 August 2021. Social housing makes up 14% of occupied homes (139 public and 47 community-housing dwellings at the 2021 Census; South Australia 5.6%). An estimated 67 people were homeless on Census night 2021, 183.2 per 10,000 residents (South Australia 41.7), apportioned from ABS Statistical Area Level 2 counts. 8.2% of residents were born overseas (South Australia 25.2%), most often in England, India, New Zealand. Modelled estimates for 2026-27, not measurements: unemployment about 3.9% (confidence 70 of 100); social housing about 12.8% of homes; about 180.1 homeless people per 10,000 residents; about 8.4% born overseas. Confidence falls with distance from the last published figure, and the map's Estimates toggle shows every year back to 1994-95.
South Australia publishes crime statistics by council area, not by suburb, so the figures shown for Smoky Bay are those of the Ceduna council area.
| Offences | Per 100,000 | Count | 5-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent | 8,384 | 315 | +44% |
| Property | 14,772 | 555 | +15% |
| Break-ins | 3,513 | 132 | -9% |
| Theft | 4,472 | 168 | +5% |
How suburb estimates are made, and how accurate they are.
Ceduna council area: full statistics · Interactive map of every council.
Questions
Is Smoky Bay safe?
South Australia publishes crime figures by council area, not by suburb. Smoky Bay is in the Ceduna council area, which recorded 8,380 violent offences per 100,000 residents in 2025-26, 6.5 times the South Australia rate (1,300) and 6.5 times the national rate (1,280). A modelled estimate for Smoky Bay itself is roughly 20,000 offences of all kinds per 100,000 residents a year (an estimate, not police figures). These are offences recorded by police per resident: they describe the area as a whole, not the risk on any particular street, and places with a busy centre record more because offences are counted where they happen.
Nearby suburbs
Bartlett · Blacker · Bonython · Carawa · Ceduna · Ceduna Waters · Chillundie · Chinbingina · Denial Bay · Goode · Guthrie · Hague · Kalanbi · Laura Bay · Maltee · Merghiny · Moule · Mudamuckla · Nadia · Nunjikompita · Nunnyah · O'Loughlin · Pethick · Petina · Pimbaacla · Puntabie · Pureba · Thevenard · Wallanippie · Wandana
australiancrimerate.com.au/suburb/sa/smoky-bay/ · Australian Crime Map