Prospect Vale, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Prospect Vale is a residential locality on the south-western edge of Greater Launceston, about seven kilometres from the city and falling almost entirely within the Meander Valley municipality. Once part of neighbouring Prospect, it was gazetted as a separate locality in 1963, on land that European settlers had earlier used for cattle grazing and horse studs. The suburb has its own small shopping centre, the Prospect Vale Marketplace, anchored by a supermarket, along with a small industrial park and sporting grounds. It is home to two secondary schools — the public Prospect High School and the Catholic St Patrick's College, which moved to its present site in the late 1950s, onto the spot where the two-storey Rising Sun Hotel had earlier stood. The Bass Highway, part of National Route 1, runs through the locality, whose boundaries are mostly drawn along survey lines.
Less advantaged than the national average
Prospect Vale is more socio-economically advantaged than about 28% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 948, 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.
Prospect Vale at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,433
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,268
- SEIFA score
- 948
- Coordinates
- -41.4842, 147.1137
Prospect Vale demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Prospect Vale 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 seniors (65+) at 27%, 26% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 791 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 547 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,180 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,408 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,488 | 27% |
Share of the 5,414 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 957 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 732 | 31% |
| Rented | 609 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,868 | 80% |
| Townhouses & semis | 147 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 325 | 14% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,344 occupied private dwellings in Prospect Vale.
- Median weekly rent
- $300
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,430
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,710
- Median weekly personal income
- $710
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 657 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 357 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 162 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,756 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.3%
- Employed full-time
- 1,479
- Employed part-time
- 927
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 Prospect Vale
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Prospect Vale 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).
Common questions about Prospect Vale
Where is Prospect Vale?
Prospect Vale is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Prospect Vale?
At the 2021 Census, Prospect Vale had a population of about 5,433.
Is Prospect Vale an advantaged area?
Prospect Vale has an ABS SEIFA score of 948, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 28 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 28% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Prospect Vale?
Prospect Vale 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 Prospect Vale?
Prospect Vale is one of the most populous suburbs in Tasmania — the 20th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 5,433 usual residents).
Where Prospect Vale ranks
Prospect Vale appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Tasmania#20 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.