Methodology

Tasmania desirability index

A weighted score from 0–100 built from nineteen public-data factors. There is no fixed benchmark suburb — the highest-scoring place across all measured factors becomes 100.

What goes in

  • Median house price9%

    Demand signal within the same cohort

  • Price change7%

    Recent momentum, capped at ±25% to limit outliers

  • Rental yield9%

    Annual rent as a percentage of house price

  • Safety13%

    Lower crime rate per 1,000 residents ranks higher

  • Crime trend6%

    Falling crime year-on-year ranks higher

  • Amenities9%

    Shops, services, and facilities nearby

  • Household income9%

    2021 Census median weekly household income

  • Dwelling vacancy3%

    Lower share of unoccupied private dwellings (2021 Census)

  • Schools3%

    Schools and preschools in the suburb

  • School ICSEA3%

    Median ICSEA across schools in the suburb (ACARA 2025)

  • Transport8%

    Public transport stops mapped to the suburb

  • CBD access2%

    Proximity to the state capital for metro and coastal suburbs

  • Health access3%

    Hospitals and GP clinics in the suburb

  • Parks & reserves2%

    Parks and public open space in the suburb

  • SEIFA advantage6%

    ABS 2021 IRSAD decile — socio-economic advantage

  • Heritage2%

    State heritage places in the suburb

  • Childcare3%

    Childcare services mapped via OpenStreetMap

  • Bushfire risk3%

    Lower is better — absence of bushfire planning overlay

  • Green cover2%

    Parks and woodland features from OpenStreetMap

How scores are built

  1. Each factor is ranked as a percentile within the suburb's cohort (metro, coastal, or regional).
  2. Percentiles are combined using the weights above. Missing factors are skipped — at least six must be present.
  3. The combined score is re-scaled so the top suburb in the state scores 100. No suburb is hard-coded as the benchmark.

Compare within a cohort

Each suburb is grouped into metro, coastal, or regional cohorts using council (LGA) boundaries, coastal name hints, and distance from Hobart. Scores compare like with like — a beach suburb is not ranked against an outback town.

  • Metro Hobart

    Inner and middle suburbs within commuting distance of Hobart.

  • Coastal & beach

    Beach suburbs and coastal towns — compare like with like.

  • Country & regional

    Towns and localities beyond the metro fringe.

What we leave out

No crowdsourced labels, no stereotypes, no anonymous map graffiti. Suburbs need population data, amenity coverage, and at least six factors to receive a score.

The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Browse desirability rankings →