Cygnet, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Cygnet is a small town in the Huon Valley of southern Tasmania, about 56 kilometres south of Hobart, set at the head of a sheltered bay. The bay was named Port des Cygnes — port of swans — by the French explorer Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1793, after the black swans he saw on its waters, and the town that grew beside it carried the name Port Cygnet before it was shortened to Cygnet. Long one of the centres of the Huon's apple country, it has become known in recent decades for its artists and craftspeople and for the Cygnet Folk Festival, held each January, which draws performers from around the country to a town of galleries, cafes and weatherboard cottages.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Cygnet is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 920, 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.
Is Cygnet a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Cygnet from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
17/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (17/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
50/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $285 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 50% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Cygnet at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,742
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,041
- SEIFA score
- 920
- Local government area
- Huon Valley
- Coordinates
- -43.1342, 147.0867
Map of Cygnet
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Cygnet
What it costs to live in Cygnet and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $285
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,280
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 22%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Cygnet demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Cygnet demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Cygnet 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 27% and 17% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 323 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 193 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 324 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 466 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 431 | 25% |
Share of the 1,737 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 297 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 207 | 30% |
| Rented | 155 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 641 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 29 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 5 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 688 occupied private dwellings in Cygnet.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,344
- Median weekly personal income
- $526
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 279 (17%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 93 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 306 (18%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 616 (46%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.2%
- Employed full-time
- 311
- Employed part-time
- 265
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.
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Common questions about Cygnet
Is Cygnet a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Cygnet rates 28/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Cygnet?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Cygnet was $285, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,280. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Cygnet?
Cygnet is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Huon Valley local government area.
What is the population of Cygnet?
At the 2021 Census, Cygnet had a population of about 1,742.
Is Cygnet an advantaged area?
Cygnet has an ABS SEIFA score of 920, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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