St Helens (Tas.), TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
St Helens is the largest town on Tasmania's north-east coast, set on the sheltered waters of Georges Bay about 160 kilometres from Launceston. Captain Tobias Furneaux named nearby St Helens Point in 1773, and the town that later grew on the bay took the same name, borrowed from St Helens on the Isle of Wight. Long a fishing port, it bills itself as the game-fishing capital of Tasmania and is well known for its oysters, with tourism, fishing, and timber underpinning the local economy. Just to the north lie the orange-lichened granite boulders and white sands of the Bay of Fires, whose beaches and the village of Binalong Bay draw visitors throughout the warmer months.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
St Helens (Tas.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 868, 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.
St Helens (Tas.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,206
- Median age
- 57
- Median weekly household income
- $824
- SEIFA score
- 868
- Coordinates
- -41.2946, 148.2008
St Helens (Tas.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile St Helens (Tas.) 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 34%, 25% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 281 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 149 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 356 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 660 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 756 | 34% |
Share of the 2,202 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 486 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 216 | 22% |
| Rented | 246 | 25% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 844 | 86% |
| Townhouses & semis | 47 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 69 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 983 occupied private dwellings in St Helens (Tas.).
- Median weekly rent
- $230
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,083
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,169
- Median weekly personal income
- $494
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 321 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 82 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 94 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 591 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 40.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.9%
- Employed full-time
- 316
- Employed part-time
- 351
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 St Helens (Tas.)
Where is St Helens (Tas.)?
St Helens (Tas.) is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of St Helens (Tas.)?
At the 2021 Census, St Helens (Tas.) had a population of about 2,206.
Is St Helens (Tas.) an advantaged area?
St Helens (Tas.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 868, 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.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.