Newnham, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Newnham is a residential suburb on the northern side of Launceston, in northern Tasmania, about seven kilometres from the city centre on the eastern bank of the Tamar River. The East Tamar Highway runs through it, linking the city with the river towns downstream. The suburb is best known as a centre of learning: the University of Tasmania, the Australian Maritime College and a TasTAFE campus all share grounds here, drawing students from across the state and beyond. Newnham was gazetted as a locality in 1963, having come close to being named Mowbray Heights two years earlier. The waters of the Tamar form its south-western boundary, and the Mowbray Indoor Sport venue adds to the local recreation on offer.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Newnham is more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 873, 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 Newnham 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 Newnham 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
7/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (7/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
55/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $270 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 55% 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.
Newnham at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 7,073
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $1,223
- SEIFA score
- 873
- Local government area
- Launceston
- Coordinates
- -41.3897, 147.1140
Map of Newnham
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Newnham
What it costs to live in Newnham and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $270
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,300
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 60%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 36%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Newnham demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Newnham demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Newnham 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% and 29% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,195 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,032 | 15% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,234 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,398 | 20% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,203 | 17% |
Share of the 7,062 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 747 | 29% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 794 | 31% |
| Rented | 924 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,949 | 77% |
| Townhouses & semis | 574 | 23% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,540 occupied private dwellings in Newnham.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,430
- Median weekly personal income
- $612
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,948 (29%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,795 (27%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 331 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,476 (43%)
- Labour-force participation
- 58.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,725
- 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 Newnham
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Newnham is January (average daytime high around 24°C) and the coolest is July (around 10.9°C). The area receives roughly 778 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24°C | 12.2°C | 54 mm |
| Feb | 22.6°C | 11.6°C | 53 mm |
| Mar | 20.6°C | 10.3°C | 61 mm |
| Apr | 17.1°C | 7.5°C | 53 mm |
| May | 13.6°C | 5.2°C | 72 mm |
| Jun | 11.4°C | 3.4°C | 72 mm |
| Jul | 10.9°C | 3°C | 89 mm |
| Aug | 11.8°C | 2.8°C | 68 mm |
| Sep | 14.1°C | 4.3°C | 59 mm |
| Oct | 16.4°C | 6°C | 82 mm |
| Nov | 19°C | 8.3°C | 50 mm |
| Dec | 21.6°C | 10.1°C | 65 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Newnham
Is Newnham 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, Newnham rates 23/100 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 Newnham?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Newnham was $270, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Newnham?
Newnham is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Launceston local government area.
What is the population of Newnham?
At the 2021 Census, Newnham had a population of about 7,073.
Is Newnham an advantaged area?
Newnham has an ABS SEIFA score of 873, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 7 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Newnham?
Newnham has average daytime highs of about 16.9°C and overnight lows of about 7.1°C, with roughly 778 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Newnham?
Newnham is one of the most populous suburbs in Tasmania — the 9th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 7,073 usual residents).
Where Newnham ranks
Newnham appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Tasmania#9 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.