Shearwater, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Less advantaged than the national average
Shearwater is more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 946, 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.
Shearwater at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,051
- Median age
- 58
- Median weekly household income
- $1,104
- SEIFA score
- 946
- Coordinates
- -41.1563, 146.5331
Shearwater demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Shearwater 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 40%, 21% of homes are rented, and 14% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 273 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 145 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 317 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 499 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 810 | 40% |
Share of the 2,044 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 448 | 52% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 206 | 24% |
| Rented | 184 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 784 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 70 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 858 occupied private dwellings in Shearwater.
- Median weekly rent
- $295
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,500
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,407
- Median weekly personal income
- $581
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 281 (14%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 54 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 100 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 565 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.6%
- Employed full-time
- 417
- Employed part-time
- 281
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 Shearwater
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Shearwater is January (average daytime high around 23°C) and the coolest is July (around 11.8°C). The area receives roughly 898 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23°C | 12.4°C | 62 mm |
| Feb | 21.9°C | 11.9°C | 51 mm |
| Mar | 20.2°C | 10.9°C | 69 mm |
| Apr | 17.3°C | 8.2°C | 62 mm |
| May | 14.2°C | 6.2°C | 86 mm |
| Jun | 12.4°C | 4.7°C | 85 mm |
| Jul | 11.8°C | 4.3°C | 108 mm |
| Aug | 12.4°C | 3.8°C | 84 mm |
| Sep | 14.3°C | 5°C | 73 mm |
| Oct | 16.4°C | 6.7°C | 99 mm |
| Nov | 18.6°C | 8.8°C | 55 mm |
| Dec | 20.8°C | 10.4°C | 64 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Shearwater
Where is Shearwater?
Shearwater is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Shearwater?
At the 2021 Census, Shearwater had a population of about 2,051.
Is Shearwater an advantaged area?
Shearwater has an ABS SEIFA score of 946, 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.
What is the weather like in Shearwater?
Shearwater has average daytime highs of about 16.9°C and overnight lows of about 7.8°C, with roughly 898 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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