Koonya, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Koonya is a small rural settlement on the Tasman Peninsula in south-east Tasmania, on the shore of Norfolk Bay about 18 kilometres north-east of Nubeena. Its name is believed to come from an Aboriginal word, although the meaning is disputed. The place was first known as Cascades, an outstation of the Port Arthur penal settlement set up in 1841, where at least four hundred convicts were once held. After the prison era ended the locality was renamed Koonya, and the old officers' quarters still stand as a reminder of those days. Quiet farmland now rings the bay, and each year the district celebrates its produce at the cheerful Koonya Garlic Festival.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Koonya is more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 886, 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 Koonya 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Koonya 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
9/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (9/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
93/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $115 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 93% 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.
Koonya at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 138
- Median age
- 61
- Median weekly household income
- $1,010
- SEIFA score
- 886
- Local government area
- Tasman
- Coordinates
- -43.0783, 147.8161
Map of Koonya
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Koonya
What it costs to live in Koonya and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $115
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,183
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 85%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 10%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Koonya demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Koonya demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Koonya 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 43% and 22% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 11 | 8% |
| Youth (15–24) | 7 | 5% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 9 | 7% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 59 | 43% |
| Seniors (65+) | 51 | 37% |
Share of the 137 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 46 | 69% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 11 | 16% |
| Rented | 7 | 10% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 63 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 67 occupied private dwellings in Koonya.
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,100
- Median weekly personal income
- $493
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 27 (22%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 5 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 63 (50%)
- Labour-force participation
- 38.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 10.4%
- Employed full-time
- 20
- Employed part-time
- 24
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 Koonya
Is Koonya 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, Koonya rates 37/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Koonya?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Koonya was $115, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,183. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Koonya?
Koonya is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Tasman local government area.
What is the population of Koonya?
At the 2021 Census, Koonya had a population of about 138.
Is Koonya an advantaged area?
Koonya has an ABS SEIFA score of 886, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 9 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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