George Town, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
George Town stands at the mouth of the Tamar River in northern Tasmania, where the river meets Bass Strait. Aboriginal people have lived around the estuary for thousands of years; in the palawa kani language the place is called kinimathatakinta. Colonel William Paterson landed here with settlers in 1804, and Governor Macquarie gave the town its present name in 1811, after King George III. Because it has been occupied ever since, George Town counts as one of the earliest European settlements in Australia. Its history shows along the river at Low Head, where a convict-built pilot station dates from 1805 and a lighthouse guards the entrance, while heritage homes such as The Grove and the 1843 Watch House survive in the town itself.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
George Town is more socio-economically advantaged than about 2% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 790, 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.
Is George Town a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for George Town from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
2/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (2/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
71/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $220 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 71% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
George Town at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,536
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $901
- SEIFA score
- 790
- Local government area
- George Town
- Coordinates
- -41.0911, 146.8846
Map of George Town
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in George Town
What it costs to live in George Town and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $220
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $913
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 62%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 35%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the George Town demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
George Town demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile George Town 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 26% and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 812 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 497 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 947 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,187 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,108 | 24% |
Share of the 4,551 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 728 | 38% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 464 | 24% |
| Rented | 659 | 35% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,649 | 87% |
| Townhouses & semis | 212 | 11% |
| Flats & apartments | 27 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,896 occupied private dwellings in George Town.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,161
- Median weekly personal income
- $483
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 514 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 128 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 275 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,111 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 43.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 13%
- Employed full-time
- 758
- Employed part-time
- 541
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.
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Common questions about George Town
Is George Town a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, George Town rates 25/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in George Town?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in George Town was $220, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $913. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is George Town?
George Town is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the George Town local government area.
What is the population of George Town?
At the 2021 Census, George Town had a population of about 4,536.
Is George Town an advantaged area?
George Town has an ABS SEIFA score of 790, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 2 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 2% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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