Barrington vs Sheffield

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Barrington, most households are couple families. In Sheffield, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Barrington: a median of $670,000, against $520,000 in Sheffield, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Barrington tends to suit couples, while Sheffield suits people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

Sheffield

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (5 vs 0)
  • has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
  • But Barrington is already more of a family suburb (85% vs 45%)

Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Barrington leaves households under less mortgage stress (16% vs 24%)
  • Sheffield has cheaper houses ($520,000 vs $670,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Sheffield

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (24% vs 6%)
  • has cheaper rent ($200/wk vs $330/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Sheffield

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (54/100 vs 0/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (194 min vs 202 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (266.5 km vs 275.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Sheffield

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (54/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 21%)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Barrington and Sheffield drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Barrington Sheffield
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Barrington Sheffield
Walkability 0 / 54
Barrington — Walkability: 0/100 Sheffield — Walkability: 54/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Barrington — Low fire risk: 100/100 Sheffield — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Sheffield has more residents (1,602 vs 209); Barrington has higher household incomes ($83,772 vs $50,440).

Barrington Sheffield
Population 209 1,602
+667% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +6.1% +3.2%
Median age 53 54
Median household income $83,772/yr
+40% vs other
 $50,440/yr
Median weekly rent $330/wk
+39% vs other
 $200/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Barrington Sheffield
0-4 2.9% / 3.2%
Barrington — 0-4: 2.9% Sheffield — 0-4: 3.2%
5-14 4.8% / 9.4%
Barrington — 5-14: 4.8% Sheffield — 5-14: 9.4%
15-19 3.8% / 4.1%
Barrington — 15-19: 3.8% Sheffield — 15-19: 4.1%
20-24 5.3% / 4.1%
Barrington — 20-24: 5.3% Sheffield — 20-24: 4.1%
25-34 9.6% / 8.2%
Barrington — 25-34: 9.6% Sheffield — 25-34: 8.2%
35-44 11.0% / 8.1%
Barrington — 35-44: 11.0% Sheffield — 35-44: 8.1%
45-54 15.3% / 13.5%
Barrington — 45-54: 15.3% Sheffield — 45-54: 13.5%
55-64 26.3% / 16.7%
Barrington — 55-64: 26.3% Sheffield — 55-64: 16.7%
65-74 11.5% / 17.2%
Barrington — 65-74: 11.5% Sheffield — 65-74: 17.2%
75-84 9.1% / 10.7%
Barrington — 75-84: 9.1% Sheffield — 75-84: 10.7%
85+ — / 4.5%
Barrington — 85+: not among its largest Sheffield — 85+: 4.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (26.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Barrington 65.9% couple families
Barrington — Couple Families: 65.9% Barrington — Lone Person: 14.6% Barrington — One Parent Families: 19.5% Barrington — Group Household: 0.0% Barrington — Other Families: 0.0%
Sheffield 30.2% couple families
Sheffield — Couple Families: 30.2% Sheffield — Lone Person: 51.4% Sheffield — One Parent Families: 14.5% Sheffield — Group Household: 3.2% Sheffield — Other Families: 0.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Barrington 6.5% renting
Barrington — Owned Outright: 57.1% Barrington — Mortgage: 36.4% Barrington — Renting: 6.5%
Sheffield 24.2% renting
Sheffield — Owned Outright: 50.2% Sheffield — Mortgage: 25.5% Sheffield — Renting: 24.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Where residents were born

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.

Barrington Sheffield
England 4.3% / 5.6%
Barrington — England: 4.3% Sheffield — England: 5.6%
Netherlands 1.9% / 0.6%
Barrington — Netherlands: 1.9% Sheffield — Netherlands: 0.6%
New Zealand — / 1.2%
Barrington — New Zealand: not among its largest Sheffield — New Zealand: 1.2%
Scotland — / 0.7%
Barrington — Scotland: not among its largest Sheffield — Scotland: 0.7%
China — / 0.4%
Barrington — China: not among its largest Sheffield — China: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.6%).

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Barrington Sheffield
Certificate III & IV 22.5% / 15.8%
Barrington — Certificate III & IV: 22.5% Sheffield — Certificate III & IV: 15.8%
Bachelor Degree 9.6% / 6.2%
Barrington — Bachelor Degree: 9.6% Sheffield — Bachelor Degree: 6.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.3% / 5.5%
Barrington — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.3% Sheffield — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.5%
Postgraduate Degree 2.4% / 1.8%
Barrington — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4% Sheffield — Postgraduate Degree: 1.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 1.6%
Barrington — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Sheffield — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.5%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Barrington 92.5% houses
Barrington — Houses: 92.5% Barrington — Flats / Apartments: 7.5% Barrington — Townhouses: 0.0%
Sheffield 91.0% houses
Sheffield — Houses: 91.0% Sheffield — Flats / Apartments: 2.0% Sheffield — Townhouses: 7.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Barrington Sheffield
Median house price $670,000 $520,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) — 73 days
from 9 sales

Zoning mix

Barrington Sheffield
Rural and farming 94% 85%
Environmental 5% 11%
Residential 0% 2%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09.

Development activity

Barrington Sheffield
New dwellings approved 19
across Kentish
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Barrington Sheffield
Houses — 3.5%
$440/wk on $649K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within TAS

Barrington Sheffield
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 76% of TAS Higher than 22% of TAS
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 24% of TAS Higher than 93% of TAS
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 55% of TAS Higher than 56% of TAS
NBN connectivity Higher than 42% of TAS Higher than 60% of TAS
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 20% of TAS

Liveability

Sheffield is more walkable (54 vs 0).

Barrington Sheffield
Grade — B
Score — 55/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 high-need area
decile 1/10

Risk profile

Barrington Sheffield
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Barrington Sheffield
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Barrington

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Sheffield

  • Sheffield School Government · Combined above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Barrington Sheffield
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 5
Parks & reserves 0 5
Childcare 0 1
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Fuel stations 0 3
EV chargers 0 1
Waterways 1 5

Mobility

Barrington sits further from the CBD (275.4 km vs 266.5 km).

Barrington Sheffield
Walkability score 0/100 54/100
Distance to Hobart 275.4 km
+3% vs other
 266.5 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 202 min 194 min
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 7306
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 36
postcode 7306
same for both

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Barrington Sheffield
Car (driver) 74.6% / 75.1%
Barrington — Car (driver): 74.6% Sheffield — Car (driver): 75.1%
Worked from Home 17.5% / 15.0%
Barrington — Worked from Home: 17.5% Sheffield — Worked from Home: 15.0%
Car (passenger) 5.3% / 4.3%
Barrington — Car (passenger): 5.3% Sheffield — Car (passenger): 4.3%
Walked Only 2.6% / 5.6%
Barrington — Walked Only: 2.6% Sheffield — Walked Only: 5.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (75.1%).

Setting

Barrington Sheffield
Elevation 252 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 267 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 19.0 km 23.7 km

NBN connectivity

Barrington Sheffield
Connectivity score 29/100 30/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
88 premises
 0%
820 premises

Climate

Barrington Sheffield
Annual rainfall 814 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Barrington Sheffield
Average residential rate $1,299/yr
same for both
Council Kentish
same for both

Federal electorate

Barrington Sheffield
Division Lyons
same for both
Member Rebecca White
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Barrington Sheffield
Grant amount $20,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Barrington

Rural

Sheffield

Acreage Affordable Parks Quiet Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Barrington

Barrington vs Acacia Hills Barrington vs Lower Barrington Barrington vs Nook Barrington vs Lower Wilmot

Other comparisons with Sheffield

Sheffield vs Railton Sheffield vs Claude Road Sheffield vs Nook Sheffield vs West Kentish Sheffield vs Paradise Sheffield vs Beulah
Full data on Barrington Full data on Sheffield
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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