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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Needles is a regional centre in Tasmania, Australia, with a population of approximately 50, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 162 km from the Hobart CBD, Needles is a regional area in Tasmania. The median household income is $110,500 per year.
Strong household incomes in Needles underpin solid property demand. Distance from major centres is a consideration, though regional markets can offer higher rental yields.
Official Australia Post postcode for Needles. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Needles on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Needles is a smaller community of 50 — about 1% of the Tasmania suburb median (3,902) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $110,500/year runs 49% above the Tasmania suburb median of $73,944, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Median weekly rent of $210 equates to $910/month — about 97% of the median mortgage repayment of $934/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Needles is 162 km from Hobart, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Separate houses make up 121% of dwellings — 41 percentage points above the Tasmania median of 80% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
How Needles stacks up against the median of all Tasmania suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Needles sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Needles | TAS median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 50 | 3,902 | -99% |
| Median household income | $110,500/yr | $73,944/yr | +49% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $210 | $320 | -34% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $934 | $1,378 | -32% |
| Distance to CBD | 162 km | 24 km | +575% |
| Separate houses | 121% | 80% | +41pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Needles — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 50 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Tasmania market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $210/week (~$910/month) covers 97% of the $934/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $24/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 121% houses in a 50-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Needles property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Needles are modest for 2026 — incomes 49% above the TAS median of $73,944 and a population of 50 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~97% of the typical mortgage ($910/month rent vs $934/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 49/100 places Needles in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Needles scores 49/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 50, median household income of $110,500/year and median weekly rent of $210. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Needles are an above-state-median household income of $110,500/year, a dwelling mix that is 121% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Needles has a usual resident population of approximately 50, compared with a Tasmania suburb median of 3,902 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Needles sits 162 km straight-line from the Hobart CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $210 in Needles, equating to approximately $10,920/year in gross rental income (state median $320/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Needles is $934, or approximately $11,208/year (vs $1,378/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $210 works out to $910/month, covering 97% of the median mortgage repayment of $934/month. That leaves a $24/month shortfall (around $288/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (50 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $934 median mortgage, the broader Tasmania market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.