Streaky Bay, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Streaky Bay is a fishing town on the west coast of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, a long drive — more than 700 kilometres by road — from Adelaide. For many thousands of years this coast has been the country of the Wirangu people. Matthew Flinders gave the bay its name in 1802, recording the streaks he saw in the water; these are now thought to come from oils released by local seaweed. Curiously, the town was first proclaimed as Flinders in 1872 and only renamed Streaky Bay in 1940. It makes its living from fishing and oyster farming, and draws visitors for its surf, its calm bay and the granite boulders of Murphy's Haystacks nearby.
Less advantaged than the national average
Streaky Bay is more socio-economically advantaged than about 30% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 951, 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.
Streaky Bay at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,436
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,111
- SEIFA score
- 951
- Coordinates
- -32.8197, 134.2686
Streaky Bay demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Streaky Bay 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 30%, 21% of homes are rented, and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 245 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 103 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 293 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 431 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 360 | 25% |
Share of the 1,432 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 255 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 160 | 29% |
| Rented | 117 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 519 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 5 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 543 occupied private dwellings in Streaky Bay.
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,278
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,495
- Median weekly personal income
- $667
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 79 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 30 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 29 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 451 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.7%
- Employed full-time
- 326
- Employed part-time
- 270
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 Streaky Bay
Where is Streaky Bay?
Streaky Bay is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Streaky Bay?
At the 2021 Census, Streaky Bay had a population of about 1,436.
Is Streaky Bay an advantaged area?
Streaky Bay has an ABS SEIFA score of 951, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 30 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 30% of Australian suburbs.
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