Suburb overview
West Moonah is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Hobart, Australia, with a population of approximately 4,522, making it a boutique locality. Located 5 km from the Hobart CBD, West Moonah is a middle ring area in Tasmania. The median household income is $77,532 per year.
Location
Key indicators
Postcode
7009
Postcode for West Moonah, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
4,522
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$495/wk
Median weekly rent — as at May 2025 – Apr 2026, Department of Justice (Tasmania) rental bonds (CC BY 4.0).
Distance to CBD
5 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,430/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
76% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why people like living in West Moonah
- Close to Hobart — roughly 5 km from the CBD, ideal for city workers.
- Predominantly separate houses (76%) — suburban lifestyle with more land.
- Established streets, local shops, and schools within the neighbourhood.
Who West Moonah suits
Pros and cons
Pros
- Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
- Short distance to the CBD makes commuting straightforward.
- Established middle-ring position between the CBD and the urban fringe.
Cons
- Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.
- Prices may rise further as demand continues.
Investment insight
4,522 residents places West Moonah squarely in the middle of the Tasmania suburb size distribution (state median 3,902), with market depth comparable to most TAS localities. Households here earn $77,532/year on average — 5% above the TAS suburb median of $73,944 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Median rent of $495/week (as at May 2025 – Apr 2026, Department of Justice (Tasmania) rental bonds) equates to roughly $2,145/month — about 150% of the $1,430/month median mortgage repayment recorded at the 2021 Census. On those figures rental income covers most or all of the recorded repayment, but repayments on new loans have risen with interest rates since 2021, so re-run the coverage at today's rates before treating this as a cash-flow suburb. At 5 km from the Hobart CBD, West Moonah sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks.
Investment tip
This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 23% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
West Moonah vs Tasmania median
How West Moonah stacks up against the median of all Tasmania suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean West Moonah sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | West Moonah | TAS median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 4,522 | 3,902 | +16% |
| Median household income | $77,532/yr | $73,944/yr | +5% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $340 | $320 | +6% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,430 | $1,378 | +4% |
| Distance to CBD | 5 km | 24 km | -79% |
| Separate houses | 76% | 80% | -4pp |
Investor checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for West Moonah — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 4,522 residents — 116% of the TAS suburb median (3,902).
- Purchasing power: median household income $77,532/year (+5% vs Tasmania suburb median of $73,944).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $340/week rent (≈ $1,473/month) covered ~103% of the $1,430/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 5 km straight-line from Hobart (state suburb median 24 km).
- Dwelling mix: 76% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 80% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$143/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,430/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 23% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment strategy
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: West Moonah's 4,522-person market and $77,532 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $340/week (~$1,473/month) covered 103% of the $1,430/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $0/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
With 76% houses in a 4,522-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Risk factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $1,430/month median mortgage in West Moonah means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $143/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Liquidity risk: with 4,522 residents, West Moonah has a thinner pool of buyers and tenants than larger suburbs. Expect longer days-on-market on resale and budget for potential vacancy gaps between tenancies.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in West Moonah regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in West Moonah with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
Run the numbers on a West Moonah property
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Start your journey near West Moonah →2026 outlook
Capital-growth expectations for West Moonah are modest for 2026 — incomes 5% above the TAS median of $73,944 and a population of 4,522 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~103% of the typical mortgage ($1,473/month rent vs $1,430/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for West Moonah is constructive heading into the second half of 2026, based on its income, rent and mortgage profile relative to the Tasmania median.
Frequently asked questions
Is West Moonah a good suburb for investment?
Whether West Moonah suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 4,522, a median household income of $77,532/year and median weekly rent of $340. Weigh those against your goal — cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — each of which we break down with suburb-specific ABS numbers elsewhere on this page.
What drives property demand in West Moonah?
The main demand drivers in West Moonah are proximity to Hobart (5 km), an above-state-median household income of $77,532/year, a dwelling mix that is 76% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of West Moonah?
West Moonah has a usual resident population of approximately 4,522, compared with a Tasmania suburb median of 3,902 — placing it in the upper 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.
How far is West Moonah from the Hobart CBD?
West Moonah sits 5 km straight-line from the Hobart CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Hobart employment nodes.
What is the median rent in West Moonah?
The median weekly rent in West Moonah is $495 (as at May 2025 – Apr 2026, Department of Justice (Tasmania) rental bonds), equating to approximately $25,740/year in gross rental income. Confirm against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
What is the typical mortgage repayment in West Moonah?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in West Moonah is $1,430, or approximately $17,160/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.
Is West Moonah cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $340 works out to $1,473/month, covering 103% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,430/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $43/month, so on these numbers West Moonah leans cash-flow-positive before accounting for strata, council rates, insurance and maintenance. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
What are the main risks of investing in West Moonah?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (4,522 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,430 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.
How we built this West Moonah profile
The population figure on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census. The postcode comes from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. The dwelling mix is from the ABS 2021 Census. The median household income is the ABS 2021 Census median weekly household income, annualised. Distance to the CBD is calculated from the suburb's ABS centroid. The Census median rent and mortgage figures are 2021 figures and are labelled as such wherever they appear — they are five years old and have moved substantially since. The current median weekly rent in Key indicators is a genuine recent figure from Department of Justice (Tasmania) rental bonds (May 2025 – Apr 2026), published under a Creative Commons licence and dated on the page. We do not publish an investment score or school/park counts for this suburb. See our methodology and data sources for exactly what's measured and what's estimated.