Moonah, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Moonah is a residential suburb of greater Hobart in the City of Glenorchy, lying about five kilometres north of the city centre and immediately north of New Town. It was gazetted as a locality in 1961, though the name had been in use since 1895; it is believed to come from an Aboriginal word for 'gum tree'. The area began as land granted to early settlers along the banks of the New Town Rivulet — which still forms much of its southern boundary — and in time those holdings grew into the neighbouring suburbs of New Town and Moonah. Its spine is Main Road, once a tram route and now a busy bus corridor, along which the Moonah shopping district gathers its shops, cafes and offices. The council's Moonah Arts Centre, opened in 2015, hosts exhibitions and classes.
Less advantaged than the national average
Moonah is more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 944, 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 Moonah 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 Moonah 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
27/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (27/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
36/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $330 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 36% 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.
Moonah at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,884
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,421
- SEIFA score
- 944
- Local government area
- Glenorchy
- Coordinates
- -42.8480, 147.3000
Map of Moonah
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Moonah
What it costs to live in Moonah and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $330
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,387
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 58%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 39%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Moonah demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Moonah demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Moonah 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 38% and 29% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 913 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 629 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,214 | 38% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,301 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 832 | 14% |
Share of the 5,889 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 638 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 721 | 31% |
| Rented | 914 | 39% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,988 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 209 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 126 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,352 occupied private dwellings in Moonah.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,765
- Median weekly personal income
- $733
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,618 (29%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,452 (26%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 225 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,905 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.5%
- Employed full-time
- 1,621
- Employed part-time
- 1,238
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 Moonah
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Moonah 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).
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Common questions about Moonah
Is Moonah 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, Moonah rates 30/100 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 Moonah?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Moonah was $330, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,387. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Moonah?
Moonah is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Glenorchy local government area.
What is the population of Moonah?
At the 2021 Census, Moonah had a population of about 5,884.
Is Moonah an advantaged area?
Moonah has an ABS SEIFA score of 944, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 27 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Moonah?
Moonah 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 Moonah?
Moonah is one of the most populous suburbs in Tasmania — the 18th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 5,884 usual residents).
Where Moonah ranks
Moonah appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Tasmania#18 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.