St Leonards
With a SEIFA disadvantage score ranking in the bottom 2 deciles nationally on three of four indexes, St Leonards is among Tasmania's lower-advantage suburbs, yet its household income sits at the 51st percentile nationally, closer to the middle than that ranking suggests. The suburb's 2,351 residents are spread across 44 square kilometres, giving a density of just 53 people per square kilometre. What defines daily life here is car dependence at 94.4% and a housing stock that is 94% separate houses, with 28.3% of dwellings having four or more bedrooms. Healthcare is the largest employer at 26.4% of local workers.
Population
2,351
Median Age
38.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,572/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
0
Median house price data is not available for St Leonards in the current period, but the cost of carrying a home here is modest: average monthly mortgage repayments of $1,300 translate to a mortgage-to-income ratio of 19.1%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. The housing stock strongly favours separate houses at 94%, compared to a national average where apartments and semis make up a much larger share. Three-bedroom homes dominate at 51.6% of dwellings, with four-plus bedroom homes accounting for 28.3%, a proportion higher than most suburban averages. Of households, 32.2% own their home outright and 45.8% are paying off a mortgage, so owners outnumber renters at 21.9% by a wide margin.
For Buyers
Median house price data is not available for St Leonards in the current period, but the cost of carrying a home here is modest: average monthly mortgage repayments of $1,300 translate to a mortgage-to-income ratio of 19.1%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. The housing stock strongly favours separate houses at 94%, compared to a national average where apartments and semis make up a much larger share. Three-bedroom homes dominate at 51.6% of dwellings, with four-plus bedroom homes accounting for 28.3%, a proportion higher than most suburban averages. Of households, 32.2% own their home outright and 45.8% are paying off a mortgage, so owners outnumber renters at 21.9% by a wide margin.
For Investors
Renters make up 21.9% of households, which is lower than the national average, limiting the tenant pool available to investors. Weekly rent sits at $290, modest by national and state capital standards. The vacancy rate is 5%, above the typical 2-3% threshold that signals balanced supply and demand, meaning rental conditions favour tenants rather than landlords. No development applications were recorded in the past 12 months, pointing to a static rather than expanding housing supply. The rent-to-income ratio of 18.4% is below the 25% stress level, which keeps tenants financially stable but also limits upward pressure on rents without meaningful population or employment growth.
Schools in St Leonards iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Larmenier Catholic School
Prep-6 · 198 students
St Leonards Primary School
K-6 · 198 students
Demographics
The median age of 38 is 2 years below the national figure, making St Leonards slightly younger than the Australian average. Overseas-born residents account for just 8.8% of the population, which is 12.8 percentage points below the national average, reflecting a predominantly locally born community. Ancestry is led by English (1,100 residents), Scottish (251) and Irish (211), a strongly Anglo-Celtic profile. University qualification rates at 23.9% run 6.2 percentage points below the national average, broadly consistent with the suburb's decile 1 IEO score for education and occupation. Average household size of 2.5 matches the national figure, and 27.7% of families are couples without children.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
94.0%
Houses
2.5%
Townhouse
3.0%
Apartment
Tenure
The ownership split tells a stable story: 32.2% own outright, 45.8% hold a mortgage and 21.9% rent, a pattern where owners outnumber renters by more than 3.5 to one. This is lower renter dependence than the national average, and mortgage-to-income at 19.1% keeps buyers below the 30% stress threshold that affects many higher-priced markets. Separate houses dominate at 94% of the stock, higher than the state and national averages, with apartments accounting for only 3% and semi-detached dwellings 2.5%. Three-bedroom dwellings make up 51.6% of homes and four-plus bedrooms a sizeable 28.3%, pointing to family-sized rather than downsizer-scale stock. No median house price data is available for this period.
Mortgage / mo
$1,300
Rent / wk
$290
HH Size
2.5
Personal Income / wk
$767
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
5.0%
Unoccupied
45
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
18.4%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
19.1%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
27.7%
Couples, no children
1,873
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare is the largest industry at 26.4% of local workers (198 people), well above what its population share would suggest, with Construction second at 14.8% and Education third at 12.4%. By occupation, Professionals lead at 203 workers, followed by Clerical/Admin at 150 and Community/Personal at 148. The unemployment rate of 4.5% is low, though the participation rate of 61.9% and full-time employment rate of 63% sit below stronger labour markets. SEIFA places the suburb in decile 1 for both IEO and IRSAD nationally, the lowest tier, reflecting limited occupational prestige and below-average educational attainment relative to other Australian suburbs. Personal weekly income averages $767 and household weekly income $1,572.
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
63.0%
Part-time
32.5%
Participation
61.9%
Employed
1,105
Occupations
Top Industries
University
23.9%
Postgraduate
4.2%
Born Overseas
8.8%
Dwellings
853
Transport to Work
Car dependence is near-total at 94.4% of residents commuting as drivers, compared to much higher public transport use in larger Australian cities, with only 0.8% using public transport and 2.1% walking or cycling. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families rely on facilities in neighbouring areas within greater Launceston. Crime statistics are not available for St Leonards. The IRSAD decile of 1 nationally flags significant relative disadvantage. However, housing stress is low: rent-to-income sits at 18.4% and mortgage-to-income at 19.1%, both below the 25-30% stress thresholds. Volunteering at 16.6% and 8.8% of residents needing daily assistance (201 people) indicate a community with moderate care needs.
Drive
94.4%
Public Transport
0.8%
Walk / Cycle
2.1%
Work from Home
N/A
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How St Leonards compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is St Leonards a good suburb to live in?
St Leonards suits residents who prioritise space and ownership: 94% of dwellings are separate houses, 32.2% are owned outright and mortgage-to-income sits at 19.1%, below the 30% stress level. The suburb ranks in the bottom 2 deciles nationally on SEIFA disadvantage measures, so access to services and economic opportunity is more limited than in higher-ranked suburbs.
What is the median house price in St Leonards?
No median house price data is currently available for St Leonards. As a proxy, average monthly mortgage repayments are $1,300 and weekly rent is $290, both modest by national standards. The mortgage-to-income ratio of 19.1% suggests homes are more affordable here than in most capital city suburbs.
What schools are in St Leonards?
No schools are recorded inside the St Leonards boundary in this dataset. Families in the suburb's 2,351-person community rely on schools in neighbouring Launceston area suburbs. University qualification rates locally are 23.9%, which is 6.2 percentage points below the national average.
Is St Leonards safe?
Crime statistics are not available for St Leonards in this dataset. As context, the suburb scores decile 2 on the IRSD index of relative disadvantage nationally, which is in the lower tier. Mortgage stress is low at 19.1% of income and rent stress at 18.4%, both below thresholds that typically correlate with higher crime pressure.
Is St Leonards good for property investment?
Weekly rent of $290 and a 5% vacancy rate, above the typical 2-3% balanced market level, point to soft rental demand. Only 21.9% of households rent, smaller than the national average, limiting the tenant pool. With no recorded development applications in 12 months and no median price data available, the investment case depends on assumptions about broader Launceston growth rather than local data.
How is St Leonards's population changing?
Population forecast data is not available for this suburb. The current population is 2,351 across 44 square kilometres. The 5-year residency rate of 79.5% indicates low turnover, suggesting the existing community is stable rather than in rapid flux. SEIFA decile 1 rankings nationally are consistent with slow growth rather than rapid change.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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