Port Lincoln, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Port Lincoln looks out over the broad, sheltered waters of Boston Bay on the Lower Eyre Peninsula, a long drive but short flight west of Adelaide. The Barngarla people are acknowledged as its traditional owners and know the place as Galinyala, said to mean a place of sweet water. Matthew Flinders charted the bay in 1802 and named it after Lincoln in his native English county. Today the city calls itself Australia's seafood capital, home to one of the country's largest fishing fleets and a tuna and aquaculture industry that farms kingfish, abalone, and mussels. Visitors come for the bay, the seafood, shark-cage diving, and the wild coast of nearby Lincoln and Coffin Bay national parks.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Port Lincoln is more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 915, 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.
Port Lincoln at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 14,458
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $1,243
- SEIFA score
- 915
- Coordinates
- -34.7194, 135.8521
Port Lincoln demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Port Lincoln 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 mid-life (45–64) at 26%, 34% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,602 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,640 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,445 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,711 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,063 | 21% |
Share of the 14,461 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,819 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,760 | 30% |
| Rented | 1,954 | 34% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,721 | 82% |
| Townhouses & semis | 653 | 11% |
| Flats & apartments | 352 | 6% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 5,780 occupied private dwellings in Port Lincoln.
- Median weekly rent
- $240
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,668
- Median weekly personal income
- $717
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,279 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 642 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 946 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,708 (41%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6%
- Employed full-time
- 3,379
- Employed part-time
- 2,585
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 Port Lincoln
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Port Lincoln is January (average daytime high around 24.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.7°C). The area receives roughly 416 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24.9°C | 16.4°C | 35 mm |
| Feb | 24.1°C | 16.4°C | 21 mm |
| Mar | 23°C | 15.6°C | 14 mm |
| Apr | 20.9°C | 13.9°C | 33 mm |
| May | 17.7°C | 11.7°C | 40 mm |
| Jun | 15.4°C | 9.7°C | 46 mm |
| Jul | 14.7°C | 9.1°C | 46 mm |
| Aug | 15.2°C | 9.2°C | 48 mm |
| Sep | 17.2°C | 10.2°C | 41 mm |
| Oct | 19.6°C | 11.6°C | 34 mm |
| Nov | 21.1°C | 12.9°C | 34 mm |
| Dec | 23.3°C | 14.7°C | 24 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Port Lincoln
Where is Port Lincoln?
Port Lincoln is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Port Lincoln?
At the 2021 Census, Port Lincoln had a population of about 14,458.
Is Port Lincoln an advantaged area?
Port Lincoln has an ABS SEIFA score of 915, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 16 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Port Lincoln?
Port Lincoln has average daytime highs of about 19.8°C and overnight lows of about 12.6°C, with roughly 416 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Port Lincoln?
Port Lincoln is one of the most populous suburbs in South Australia — the 9th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 14,458 usual residents).
Where Port Lincoln ranks
Port Lincoln appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.