South Hobart, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
South Hobart is widely regarded as Hobart's first suburb, an inner enclave tucked between the city centre and the slopes of Mount Wellington. It was settled early by merchant and professional families wanting to escape the bustle of colonial Hobart Town. The suburb is home to the Cascade Brewery, Australia's oldest, and to the Cascades Female Factory, regarded as the nation's most significant historic site associated with convict women, sitting in the shadow of the mountain. High on the foothills, the famous Keen's Curry sign — white-painted stones first laid out in 1905 to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee — still looks down over the rooftops. Henry Hunter's All Saints' Anglican Church dates from 1858, platypus still frequent the Hobart Rivulet, and the acclaimed novelist Richard Flanagan has called the suburb home.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
South Hobart is more socio-economically advantaged than about 87% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1063, 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 South Hobart 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for South Hobart 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
87/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (87/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
23/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $378 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 23% 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.
South Hobart at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,886
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,787
- SEIFA score
- 1063
- Local government area
- Hobart
- Coordinates
- -42.8981, 147.2929
Map of South Hobart
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in South Hobart
What it costs to live in South Hobart and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $378
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,648
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 63%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 32%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the South Hobart demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
South Hobart demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile South Hobart 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 31% and 25% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 883 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 746 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,838 | 31% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,378 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,042 | 18% |
Share of the 5,887 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 791 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 683 | 29% |
| Rented | 741 | 32% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,632 | 71% |
| Townhouses & semis | 350 | 15% |
| Flats & apartments | 302 | 13% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,311 occupied private dwellings in South Hobart.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,258
- Median weekly personal income
- $891
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,414 (25%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 893 (16%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 101 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,692 (77%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.7%
- Employed full-time
- 1,531
- Employed part-time
- 1,382
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 South Hobart
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in South Hobart is January (average daytime high around 21°C) and the coolest is July (around 11.6°C). The area receives roughly 823 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21°C | 12.8°C | 64 mm |
| Feb | 20.2°C | 12.4°C | 55 mm |
| Mar | 18.9°C | 11.6°C | 74 mm |
| Apr | 16.6°C | 9.9°C | 44 mm |
| May | 13.8°C | 7.8°C | 68 mm |
| Jun | 12.1°C | 6.7°C | 76 mm |
| Jul | 11.6°C | 5.9°C | 52 mm |
| Aug | 12.1°C | 5.6°C | 68 mm |
| Sep | 14°C | 6.8°C | 60 mm |
| Oct | 15.6°C | 8°C | 99 mm |
| Nov | 17.2°C | 9.6°C | 81 mm |
| Dec | 19.1°C | 11°C | 82 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about South Hobart
Is South Hobart 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, South Hobart rates 66/100 overall (Strong 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 South Hobart?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in South Hobart was $378, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,648. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is South Hobart?
South Hobart is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Hobart local government area.
What is the population of South Hobart?
At the 2021 Census, South Hobart had a population of about 5,886.
Is South Hobart an advantaged area?
South Hobart has an ABS SEIFA score of 1063, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 87 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 87% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in South Hobart?
South Hobart has average daytime highs of about 16°C and overnight lows of about 9°C, with roughly 823 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is South Hobart?
South Hobart is one of the most populous suburbs in Tasmania — the 17th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 5,886 usual residents).
Does South Hobart have high household incomes?
South Hobart has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Tasmania — the 16th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($1,787 per week).
Where South Hobart ranks
South Hobart appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
More suburb guides in Tasmania
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.