Lenah Valley, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lenah Valley is a suburb of Hobart set in the foothills of Mount Wellington, west of the city centre between Mount Stuart, New Town and the City of Glenorchy. It was known in turn as Kangaroo Bottom, Kangaroo Valley and Sassafras Valley before being brought together as Lenah Valley in 1922; the name takes lenah, recorded as the Muwinina word for kangaroo. The eastern end was among the earliest parts settled, with the first land grants issued for farming in 1817, and the Newlands manor house of the late 1830s set a tone of orchards and quality homes for the surrounding district. In 1831 James Sherwin established one of Australia's earliest commercial potteries along Pottery Road. Lady Jane Franklin bought a tract of land here in 1839 to build a museum and botanical garden she called Ancanthe, from the Greek for 'blooming valley'; the sandstone museum, raised in the Greek revival style, opened in 1843, and the Art Society of Tasmania has worked from the Lady Franklin Gallery since 1949. The suburb's landmarks today include Calvary Hospital, the Pura Milk factory, John Turnbull Park and the bushland of Ancanthe Park around the gallery.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Lenah Valley is more socio-economically advantaged than about 81% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1044, 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.
Lenah Valley at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,522
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,931
- SEIFA score
- 1044
- Coordinates
- -42.8696, 147.2756
Lenah Valley demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lenah Valley 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%, 26% of homes are rented, and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,159 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 618 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,117 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,605 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,017 | 16% |
Share of the 6,516 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 895 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 955 | 38% |
| Rented | 656 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,249 | 88% |
| Townhouses & semis | 127 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 161 | 6% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,546 occupied private dwellings in Lenah Valley.
- Median weekly rent
- $380
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,625
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,310
- Median weekly personal income
- $939
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,432 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,162 (18%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 134 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,626 (70%)
- Labour-force participation
- 69.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.9%
- Employed full-time
- 1,913
- Employed part-time
- 1,421
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.
Weather and climate in Lenah Valley
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lenah Valley is January (average daytime high around 23.6°C) and the coolest is July (around 11.7°C). The area receives roughly 642 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23.6°C | 12.5°C | 51 mm |
| Feb | 22.5°C | 11.8°C | 42 mm |
| Mar | 20.8°C | 10.5°C | 53 mm |
| Apr | 17.6°C | 8.3°C | 36 mm |
| May | 14.2°C | 5.9°C | 55 mm |
| Jun | 12.1°C | 4.3°C | 55 mm |
| Jul | 11.7°C | 3.7°C | 42 mm |
| Aug | 12.6°C | 3.6°C | 56 mm |
| Sep | 14.9°C | 5.1°C | 50 mm |
| Oct | 17°C | 6.9°C | 77 mm |
| Nov | 19.1°C | 9°C | 62 mm |
| Dec | 21.4°C | 10.6°C | 63 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Lenah Valley
Where is Lenah Valley?
Lenah Valley is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Lenah Valley?
At the 2021 Census, Lenah Valley had a population of about 6,522.
Is Lenah Valley an advantaged area?
Lenah Valley has an ABS SEIFA score of 1044, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 81 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 81% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lenah Valley?
Lenah Valley has average daytime highs of about 17.3°C and overnight lows of about 7.7°C, with roughly 642 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Lenah Valley?
Lenah Valley is one of the most populous suburbs in Tasmania — the 14th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 6,522 usual residents).
Does Lenah Valley have high household incomes?
Lenah Valley has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Tasmania — the 10th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($1,931 per week).
Where Lenah Valley ranks
Lenah Valley appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Highest-income suburbs in Tasmania#10 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Tasmania#14 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.