The 171 km2 seat stretches from Hallett Cove and O'Halloran Hill in the north to Maslin Beach in the south, including the suburbs of Aberfoyle Park, Christie Downs, Christies Beach, Flagstaff Hill, Hackham, Hallett Cove, Huntfield Heights, Lonsdale, Maslin Beach, Moana, Morphett Vale, Old Noarlunga, Onkaparinga Hills, Port Noarlunga, Reynella, Seaford, Sheidow Park, Port Willunga, Trott Park, Woodcroft, and parts of Happy Valley and McLaren Flat.

Kingston was first based on the Holdfast Bay area to the north of the current boundaries from the 1949 election as a notionally marginal to fairly safe Labor seat.

This started a tradition of Labor and the Liberals alternating for long spells in a seat that has slowly moved south over the decades.

Though Labor picked up a two-party swing in all eleven seats, the presence of Nick Xenophon Team candidates in all eleven seats produced, apart from a suppressed major party primary vote, a result where Rishworth was the only major party candidate in the state to pick up a primary vote swing.

Kingston began to move south from 1969 when the Holdfast Bay area was transferred to the newly created seat of Hawker.