Smithton, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Smithton is the commercial hub of the Circular Head district on Tasmania's far north-west coast, set on the Duck River about 85 kilometres north-west of Burnie. The settlement grew around the Duck River post office, which opened in 1873 and was renamed Smithton in 1895; the town was formally declared in 1905. Railways and tramways built in the early twentieth century linked it to the wider region and helped it prosper. Surrounded by some of Tasmania's richest dairy and forestry country, Smithton serves as the seat of the Circular Head Council. Its economy rests on dairy and beef farming, timber, fishing and aquaculture, with major local employers in meat, vegetable and seafood processing.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Smithton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 881, 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 Smithton 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 Smithton 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
8/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (8/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
69/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $222 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 69% 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.
Smithton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,934
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,189
- SEIFA score
- 881
- Local government area
- Circular Head
- Coordinates
- -40.8454, 145.1364
Map of Smithton
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Smithton
What it costs to live in Smithton and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $222
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,083
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 67%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 27%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Smithton demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Smithton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Smithton 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 mid-life (45–64) at 25% and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 716 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 435 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 909 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 976 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 897 | 23% |
Share of the 3,933 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 541 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 490 | 32% |
| Rented | 410 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,403 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 97 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 12 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,521 occupied private dwellings in Smithton.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,554
- Median weekly personal income
- $652
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 366 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 179 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 816 (21%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 829 (27%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 973
- Employed part-time
- 595
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.
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Common questions about Smithton
Is Smithton 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, Smithton rates 28/100 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 Smithton?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Smithton was $222, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,083. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Smithton?
Smithton is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Circular Head local government area.
What is the population of Smithton?
At the 2021 Census, Smithton had a population of about 3,934.
Is Smithton an advantaged area?
Smithton has an ABS SEIFA score of 881, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 8 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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