Coffin Bay, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coffin Bay is a sheltered fishing and oyster town on the southern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, about 288km west of Adelaide and 36km west of Port Lincoln. The Nauo people are the traditional custodians, and their name for the place is recorded as 'Mudhabaga'; the English name was given by Matthew Flinders in 1802 in honour of his friend Sir Isaac Coffin. The modern town began as a holiday shack area surveyed in the 1950s and was formally laid out in 1957. Its calm, clean waters are renowned for Coffin Bay oysters, while the rugged Coffin Bay National Park — popular for camping, fishing and four-wheel driving — draws thousands of visitors over the holidays.
Less advantaged than the national average
Coffin Bay is more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 953, 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.
Coffin Bay at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 664
- Median age
- 57
- Median weekly household income
- $1,254
- SEIFA score
- 953
- Coordinates
- -34.5805, 135.3204
Coffin Bay demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coffin Bay 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 seniors (65+) at 34%, 19% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 85 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 34 | 5% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 119 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 203 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 228 | 34% |
Share of the 669 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 135 | 48% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 83 | 29% |
| Rented | 55 | 19% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 280 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 289 occupied private dwellings in Coffin Bay.
- Median weekly rent
- $273
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,447
- Median weekly personal income
- $711
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 78 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 22 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 23 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 226 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 48.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.5%
- Employed full-time
- 152
- Employed part-time
- 97
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.
Common questions about Coffin Bay
Where is Coffin Bay?
Coffin Bay is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Coffin Bay?
At the 2021 Census, Coffin Bay had a population of about 664.
Is Coffin Bay an advantaged area?
Coffin Bay has an ABS SEIFA score of 953, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 31 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of Australian suburbs.
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