Tin Can Bay, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tin Can Bay is a coastal town in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of Queensland, about 220 kilometres north of Brisbane and 50 kilometres north-east of Gympie. It is best known for the wild humpback dolphins that visit the boat ramp at Norman Point, where, under close supervision, people can hand-feed them most mornings. The town is also a fishing port, particularly for prawns, and a quiet holiday base for boating and birdwatching. Its unusual name is uncertain in origin but is thought to come from an Aboriginal language — possibly 'tinchin', meaning mangrove, or a word for a broad-leafed vine. European settlement began in the 1870s around the timber trade, and the town was known as Wallu until it was renamed Tin Can Bay in 1937.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Tin Can Bay is more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 864, 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.
Tin Can Bay at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,293
- Median age
- 65
- Median weekly household income
- $734
- SEIFA score
- 864
- Coordinates
- -25.8834, 152.9319
Tin Can Bay demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tin Can 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 51%, 27% of homes are rented, and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 143 | 6% |
| Youth (15–24) | 108 | 5% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 187 | 8% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 676 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,180 | 51% |
Share of the 2,294 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 626 | 56% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 118 | 11% |
| Rented | 300 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 856 | 76% |
| Townhouses & semis | 74 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 79 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,128 occupied private dwellings in Tin Can Bay.
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $935
- Median weekly personal income
- $456
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 310 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 29 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 72 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 613 (29%)
- Labour-force participation
- 25.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.1%
- Employed full-time
- 225
- Employed part-time
- 238
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 Tin Can Bay
Where is Tin Can Bay?
Tin Can Bay is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Tin Can Bay?
At the 2021 Census, Tin Can Bay had a population of about 2,293.
Is Tin Can Bay an advantaged area?
Tin Can Bay has an ABS SEIFA score of 864, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 6 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of Australian suburbs.
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