Sheffield, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Sheffield lies in north-west Tasmania, about 23 kilometres inland from Devonport, beneath the bulk of Mount Roland. Edward Curr named it after his home city of Sheffield in Yorkshire, and for its first decades it was a quiet farming settlement on the dairy country of the Kentish district. That changed in the 1980s, when the town began painting its history onto its walls: more than sixty large murals now cover Sheffield's buildings, telling stories of the pioneers and the landscape, and an annual mural festival keeps adding to them. Promoted as the 'Town of Murals', it draws a steady stream of visitors, many pausing on the way to Cradle Mountain, about an hour's drive to the south-west.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Sheffield is more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 875, 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.
Sheffield at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,602
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $970
- SEIFA score
- 875
- Coordinates
- -41.3867, 146.3376
Sheffield demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Sheffield 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 32%, 23% of homes are rented, and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 203 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 131 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 261 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 483 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 519 | 32% |
Share of the 1,597 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 317 | 48% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 161 | 24% |
| Rented | 153 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 598 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 46 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 647 occupied private dwellings in Sheffield.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,000
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,359
- Median weekly personal income
- $515
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 209 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 49 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 76 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 407 (30%)
- Labour-force participation
- 43.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.4%
- Employed full-time
- 301
- Employed part-time
- 216
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.
Common questions about Sheffield
Where is Sheffield?
Sheffield is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Sheffield?
At the 2021 Census, Sheffield had a population of about 1,602.
Is Sheffield an advantaged area?
Sheffield has an ABS SEIFA score of 875, 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.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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