Strahan, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Strahan is a small harbour town on Tasmania's wild west coast, set on the vast Macquarie Harbour about 300 kilometres from Hobart by road. Once a rough port shipping out timber and mineral ore, it is now the main gateway to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: cruises run from the wharf up the tannin-dark Gordon River and out through the narrow, aptly named Hells Gates to the open sea. Nearby Sarah Island holds the ruins of one of the colony's harshest convict settlements, and the restored West Coast Wilderness Railway climbs into the rainforest. The town was renamed in 1881 after the colonial governor Sir George Strahan.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Strahan is more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 916, 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.
Strahan at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 697
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,347
- SEIFA score
- 916
- Coordinates
- -42.1482, 145.3408
Strahan demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Strahan 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 young adults (25–44) at 32%, 30% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 116 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 51 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 221 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 189 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 123 | 18% |
Share of the 700 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 102 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 84 | 29% |
| Rented | 87 | 30% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 276 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 283 occupied private dwellings in Strahan.
- Median weekly rent
- $195
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,083
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,908
- Median weekly personal income
- $722
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 82 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 43 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 56 (8%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 205 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6%
- Employed full-time
- 182
- Employed part-time
- 142
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 Strahan
Where is Strahan?
Strahan is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Strahan?
At the 2021 Census, Strahan had a population of about 697.
Is Strahan an advantaged area?
Strahan has an ABS SEIFA score of 916, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 16 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of Australian suburbs.
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