Coles Bay, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coles Bay sits on Tasmania's east coast at the foot of the Freycinet Peninsula, fronting Great Oyster Bay about 192 kilometres north-east of Hobart. The small township is the gateway to Freycinet National Park, where the pink-granite peaks known as the Hazards rise straight from the sea. Just over the saddle lies Wineglass Bay, a curved arc of white sand regularly named among the world's finest beaches. Visitors come to hike the peninsula's trails, kayak and boat the sheltered waters, fish, and sample local oysters pulled from the bay. With only a handful of permanent residents, it trades almost entirely on its national-park scenery and quiet coastal calm.
Around the national middle
Coles Bay is more socio-economically advantaged than about 54% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 994, 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.
Coles Bay at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 515
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,354
- SEIFA score
- 994
- Coordinates
- -42.0662, 148.2346
Coles Bay demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coles 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 young adults (25–44) at 44%, 33% of homes are rented, and 34% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 37 | 7% |
| Youth (15–24) | 35 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 228 | 44% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 92 | 18% |
| Seniors (65+) | 122 | 24% |
Share of the 514 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 65 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 31 | 19% |
| Rented | 53 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 141 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 154 occupied private dwellings in Coles Bay.
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,784
- Median weekly personal income
- $837
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 142 (34%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 102 (24%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 9 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 261 (54%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.3%
- Employed full-time
- 129
- Employed part-time
- 118
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 Coles Bay
Where is Coles Bay?
Coles Bay is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Coles Bay?
At the 2021 Census, Coles Bay had a population of about 515.
Is Coles Bay an advantaged area?
Coles Bay has an ABS SEIFA score of 994, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 54 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 54% of Australian suburbs.
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