Penguin, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Penguin is a seaside town on Tasmania's north-west coast, about 30 kilometres west of Devonport, strung along the shore between Burnie and Ulverstone. It owes its name to the little penguins that nest along this coast: the botanist Ronald Gunn chose it for the rookeries scattered through the area. Settled in 1861 as a timber town and proclaimed in 1875, Penguin shipped timber across Bass Strait to the Victorian goldfields before the railway reached it in 1901. The town leans cheerfully into its name — a Big Penguin statue, raised in 1975 for the centenary of the naming, presides over the foreshore, and even the street bins wear little penguins. The Dial Range rises close behind.
Less advantaged than the national average
Penguin is more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 945, 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.
Penguin at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,132
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,301
- SEIFA score
- 945
- Coordinates
- -41.1393, 146.0610
Penguin demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Penguin 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 29%, 21% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 663 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 426 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 857 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,208 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 971 | 24% |
Share of the 4,125 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 652 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 589 | 36% |
| Rented | 347 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,498 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 109 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,652 occupied private dwellings in Penguin.
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,686
- Median weekly personal income
- $657
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 432 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 89 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 328 (8%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,239 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,050
- Employed part-time
- 712
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 Penguin
Where is Penguin?
Penguin is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Penguin?
At the 2021 Census, Penguin had a population of about 4,132.
Is Penguin an advantaged area?
Penguin has an ABS SEIFA score of 945, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 27 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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