Burnie, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Burnie is a port city on Tasmania's north-west coast, built around the broad curve of Emu Bay roughly 150 kilometres from Launceston. Founded in 1827 as Emu Bay, it was renamed in the early 1840s after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company that opened up the district. The fourth-largest of Tasmania's cities, it grew on its deep-water port and on paper and timber, though the big pulp mill closed in 2010 and the city has since leaned into renewable energy, education, and the arts. The Makers' Workshop and Burnie Arts centre, a working harbour, and little penguins that come ashore at dusk along the nearby coast give the city its character.
Less advantaged than the national average
Burnie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 23% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 935, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Burnie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 693
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,064
- SEIFA score
- 935
- Coordinates
- -41.0541, 145.9048
Burnie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Burnie using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 30%, 50% of homes are rented, and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 75 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 74 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 205 | 30% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 171 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 158 | 23% |
Share of the 683 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 110 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 60 | 17% |
| Rented | 178 | 50% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 225 | 62% |
| Townhouses & semis | 63 | 17% |
| Flats & apartments | 64 | 18% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 364 occupied private dwellings in Burnie.
- Median weekly rent
- $240
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,083
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,687
- Median weekly personal income
- $710
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 130 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 81 (12%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 51 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 320 (54%)
- Labour-force participation
- 58%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.5%
- Employed full-time
- 182
- Employed part-time
- 130
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Burnie
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Burnie is January (average daytime high around 16°C) and the coolest is August (around 6.7°C). The area receives roughly 1046 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16°C | 8.2°C | 72 mm |
| Feb | 15.1°C | 7.9°C | 59 mm |
| Mar | 13.6°C | 7.1°C | 78 mm |
| Apr | 11.2°C | 5.1°C | 69 mm |
| May | 8.7°C | 3.4°C | 113 mm |
| Jun | 7.1°C | 2.2°C | 110 mm |
| Jul | 6.3°C | 1.6°C | 132 mm |
| Aug | 6.7°C | 0.9°C | 97 mm |
| Sep | 8.1°C | 1.8°C | 80 mm |
| Oct | 10°C | 3°C | 104 mm |
| Nov | 11.9°C | 4.8°C | 60 mm |
| Dec | 13.9°C | 6.3°C | 72 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Burnie
Where is Burnie?
Burnie is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Burnie?
At the 2021 Census, Burnie had a population of about 693.
Is Burnie an advantaged area?
Burnie has an ABS SEIFA score of 935, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 23 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 23% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Burnie?
Burnie has average daytime highs of about 10.7°C and overnight lows of about 4.4°C, with roughly 1,046 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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