Tumby Bay SA 5605
Located in South Australia, Tumby Bay sits 603 km from Adelaide CBD, around 6 hours 35 minutes by car. The town has 1,781 residents, a median age of 57, and a median household income of $55,016 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. The town grew 9.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $220 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,200. Tumby Bay is characterised by high coastal erosion risk and high bushfire risk. All 1 school within the town boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is moderate.
Is Tumby Bay a good town?
Tumby Bay scores a D (22/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade.
Mixed results
1 school · 1 above peer schools
Some car dependence
Walkability 53/100 · 603.4 km · 395 min drive to Adelaide
Median available
Median $484K
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 68/100 · Crime 49/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 57 · 1,781 residents
Liveability Rating
22 / 100 · Ranked #493 in SAEach bar is Tumby Bay's rank among SA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Tumby Bay?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
22 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataTumby Bay's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $484,000, roughly 16% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$483,750
Based on 72 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 44 days — median across 16 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 11 sales $385K
- 3 bed 37 sales $465K
- 4 bed 15 sales $630K
- 5 bed 5 sales $758K
Land
$215,000
Based on 21 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 62 days — median across 8 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Tumby Bay are currently listed at around $600,000 on average. Based on 13 houses listed in the past six months.
$600K
13 houses listed in the last 6 months.
14 of the suburb's 802 dwellings (1.7%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Tumby Bay rent for around $500 a week on average, based on 9 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$500/wk
9 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$400/wk
3 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
12 rentals advertised against an estimated 186 rented homes (6.5%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Apr–Jun 2026- All rentals
- $500/wk
- 10 bonds
- +73% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$500/week ($26,000 a year) on a $600,000 median
Not enough unit sales and rentals in the window to calculate a yield.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Is Tumby Bay safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Tumby Bay sits in the moderate band, with 47 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 74% on the prior year.
47 offences
74.1% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20252 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. This state’s crash data does not name the road.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 198 m
- Rate
- -0.27 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -14.6 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
One school serve Tumby Bay, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Tumby Bay Area School leads the pack.
- • 237 students in one school (avg 237)
Combined
Walkability
Tumby Bay is somewhat walkable on foot — at 53/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 3 parks and 3 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Tumby Bay.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 1,081
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Tumby Bay: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 5 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Tumby Bay is home to about 1,800 residents, with a median age of 57 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $55,000 a year, with unemployment at 2.5%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,781
Median Age
57
Median Household Income
$55,016/yr
Census Median Rent
$220/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,200/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$32,448/yr
Unemployment Rate
2.5%
Unoccupied Dwellings
23.3%
Total Dwellings
802
Owner-Occupier Rate
76.8%
Houses
84.2%
Rental Stress
20.8%
Mortgage Stress
26.2%
Work From Home
10.3%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
10 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 13 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 176 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 86.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 93.4%
- Employment Rate
- 46.2%
- Completed Year 12
- 29.8%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
4 residents (0.2%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
4.9% of residents (82) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Adelaide (73).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,690 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,976 a year through Tumby Bay based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 84%
- Environmental 13%
- Zones under 1% 3%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the town around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Tumby Bay
In the year to August 2026, 13 new dwellings were approved across Tumby Bay. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are down 50.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Setting
- Elevation
- 7 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 201 m
Elevation is the ground at the town centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
EV adoption
In postcode 5605, 0 of 1,928 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.1% (21 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.1%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 5605, 626 rooftop-solar systems totalling 3.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,018 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 20 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$15,000 for new homes.
No purchase-price cap. Stamp duty is fully exempted for eligible first-home buyers as a separate concession.
Mortgage repayments
Conveyance duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with RevenueSA
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Tom Venning Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Tom Venning | 45.4% | 54.6% | +5.4 |
| 2022 | Rowan Ramsey | 39.9% | 60.1% | -3.2 |
| 2019 | Rowan Ramsey | 36.7% | 63.3% | +5.6 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Sam Telfer Liberal Party
Next state election: 16 March 2030.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sam Telfer LP | 59.6% |
| 2022 | Sam Telfer LP | 53.0% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2024, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of South Australia.
Looking at a specific address in Tumby Bay?
Every figure above is a town average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 1,781 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Tumby Bay to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other SA suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Tumby Bay
Is Tumby Bay a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Tumby Bay is moderate (49/100, ranked against other SA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Tumby Bay?
Tumby Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (68/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Tumby Bay a good place to live?
Tumby Bay has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (22/100), ranked against other SA suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Tumby Bay?
Tumby Bay, SA had a population of 1,781 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Tumby Bay, SA?
The postcode for Tumby Bay, SA is 5605.
How far is Tumby Bay from Adelaide?
Tumby Bay is 603 km from Adelaide CBD by road, about 395 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Tumby Bay?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Tumby Bay was $55,016 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Tumby Bay?
The median advertised rent in Tumby Bay is $500 a week for houses (9 listings) and $400 a week for units (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Tumby Bay?
The median age of residents in Tumby Bay was 57 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Tumby Bay at risk of bushfire?
Tumby Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (68/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
How are the schools in Tumby Bay?
There is 1 school inside the Tumby Bay boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Tumby Bay walkable?
Tumby Bay scores 53/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Tumby Bay?
First-home buyers in SA may be eligible for $15,000 towards new homes. The grant is administered by RevenueSA; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Tumby Bay belong to?
Tumby Bay sits within the Tumby Bay local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Tumby Bay?
The average residential rates bill through Tumby Bay is $1,976 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Tumby Bay?
Across Tumby Bay, 13 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 50.0% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Tumby Bay in?
Tumby Bay sits within the federal Division of Grey, currently held by Tom Venning (Liberal).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2026
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2026
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.