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.
Taroona at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,121
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,845
- SEIFA score
- 1076
- Coordinates
- -42.9458, 147.3429
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%, 15% of homes are rented, 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.
- Median weekly rent
- $420
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- 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).
Common questions about Taroona
Where is Taroona?
Taroona is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
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 17th-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.