Taroona, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Taroona is a leafy residential suburb on the River Derwent between Hobart and Kingston; although it sits on the edge of Hobart, it falls within the municipality of Kingborough. Its name is said to come from a Mouheneener word for the chiton, a small shellfish found on the rocks along its shore. The area was first known to European settlers as Crayfish Point and was farmed through the nineteenth century, before Clarendon Lord built a homestead he called Taroona in the 1890s, complete with tea rooms overlooking the Derwent. Taroona has several beaches and the dramatic Alum Cliffs walk, but its best-known landmark is the Shot Tower — a 48-metre sandstone tower built by Joseph Moir in 1870 and one of Tasmania's most distinctive historic buildings.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Taroona is more socio-economically advantaged than about 91% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1076, 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 Taroona 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 Taroona 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
91/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (91/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
15/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $420 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 15% 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.
Taroona at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,121
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,845
- SEIFA score
- 1076
- Local government area
- Kingborough
- Coordinates
- -42.9458, 147.3429
Map of Taroona
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Taroona
What it costs to live in Taroona and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $420
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 81%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 15%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Taroona demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Taroona demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Taroona 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 30% and 25% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 476 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 393 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 579 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 934 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 729 | 23% |
Share of the 3,111 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 586 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 378 | 32% |
| Rented | 179 | 15% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,155 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 30 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,193 occupied private dwellings in Taroona.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,364
- Median weekly personal income
- $861
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 763 (25%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 356 (12%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 28 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,917 (78%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 738
- Employed part-time
- 682
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 Taroona
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Taroona 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).
Share your local knowledge of Taroona
Lived here or spent time in Taroona? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Taroona
Is Taroona 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, Taroona 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 Taroona?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Taroona was $420, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Taroona?
Taroona is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Kingborough local government area.
What is the population of Taroona?
At the 2021 Census, Taroona had a population of about 3,121.
Is Taroona an advantaged area?
Taroona has an ABS SEIFA score of 1076, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 91 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 91% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Taroona?
Taroona 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).
Does Taroona have high household incomes?
Taroona has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Tasmania — the 13th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($1,845 per week).
Where Taroona ranks
Taroona 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.