West Hobart, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
West Hobart is an inner-city suburb set in the hills immediately west of central Hobart, its steep streets lined with Victorian and Federation houses prized for their views over the River Derwent. It began as a farming district of orchards, hops and dairies, worked in part by Chinese market gardeners, with a brickworks at the top of Arthur Street and coal mines below Summerhill Road; the slopes of Knocklofty Hill were quarried for sandstone and are now a bushland reserve looked after by the city council. The post office opened in 1892. Long regarded as a working-class quarter, West Hobart shifted character from the 1960s onwards and is today thought of as one of the city's more bohemian corners, home to artists and musicians in its gentrified old cottages.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
West Hobart is more socio-economically advantaged than about 92% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1079, 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.
West Hobart at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,525
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,996
- SEIFA score
- 1079
- Coordinates
- -42.8836, 147.3027
West Hobart demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile West 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%, 34% of homes are rented, and 24% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 900 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 788 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,037 | 31% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,776 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,020 | 16% |
Share of the 6,521 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 911 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 784 | 29% |
| Rented | 917 | 34% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,030 | 76% |
| Townhouses & semis | 174 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 462 | 17% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,675 occupied private dwellings in West Hobart.
- Median weekly rent
- $400
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,950
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,489
- Median weekly personal income
- $998
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,498 (24%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 911 (14%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 96 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,157 (77%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,988
- Employed part-time
- 1,475
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 West Hobart
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in West 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).
Common questions about West Hobart
Where is West Hobart?
West Hobart is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of West Hobart?
At the 2021 Census, West Hobart had a population of about 6,525.
Is West Hobart an advantaged area?
West Hobart has an ABS SEIFA score of 1079, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 92 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 92% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in West Hobart?
West 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 West Hobart?
West Hobart is one of the most populous suburbs in Tasmania — the 13th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 6,525 usual residents).
Does West Hobart have high household incomes?
West Hobart has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Tasmania — the 8th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($1,996 per week).
Where West Hobart ranks
West Hobart appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.