Boston vs Hawson

Boston is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 49 in Hawson. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Boston tends to suit families with children and couples.

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

Too close to call

Nothing among the 6 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

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

First-home buyers

Boston

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 24%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Hawson

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($238/wk vs $345/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Boston

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (423 min vs 428 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (648.1 km vs 652.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Hawson

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (19% vs 13%)

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Boston

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (20.6% vs -1.7%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Boston Hawson
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.

Boston Hawson
Walkability 0 / 0
Boston — Walkability: 0/100 Hawson — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 82 / 73
Boston — Safety: 82/100 Hawson — Safety: 73/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Boston — Low fire risk: 100/100 Hawson — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Boston has more residents (1,169 vs 119); Boston has higher household incomes ($114,348 vs $71,500).

Boston Hawson
Population 1,169
+90% vs other
 119
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +20.6% -1.7%
Median age 40 49
Median household income $114,348/yr
+37% vs other
 $71,500/yr
Median weekly rent $345/wk
+31% vs other
 $238/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Boston Hawson
0-4 6.3% / 6.7%
Boston — 0-4: 6.3% Hawson — 0-4: 6.7%
5-14 19.1% / 5.9%
Boston — 5-14: 19.1% Hawson — 5-14: 5.9%
15-19 5.5% / 8.4%
Boston — 15-19: 5.5% Hawson — 15-19: 8.4%
20-24 2.4% / —
Boston — 20-24: 2.4% Hawson — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 8.1% / 2.5%
Boston — 25-34: 8.1% Hawson — 25-34: 2.5%
35-44 17.3% / 12.6%
Boston — 35-44: 17.3% Hawson — 35-44: 12.6%
45-54 15.1% / 19.3%
Boston — 45-54: 15.1% Hawson — 45-54: 19.3%
55-64 12.4% / 17.6%
Boston — 55-64: 12.4% Hawson — 55-64: 17.6%
65-74 9.8% / 13.4%
Boston — 65-74: 9.8% Hawson — 65-74: 13.4%
75-84 3.1% / 5.9%
Boston — 75-84: 3.1% Hawson — 75-84: 5.9%
85+ 0.4% / —
Boston — 85+: 0.4% Hawson — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Boston 75.4% couple families
Boston — Couple Families: 75.4% Boston — Lone Person: 16.9% Boston — One Parent Families: 6.4% Boston — Group Household: 1.3%
Hawson 56.7% couple families
Hawson — Couple Families: 56.7% Hawson — Lone Person: 23.3% Hawson — One Parent Families: 20.0% Hawson — Group Household: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Boston 7.6% renting
Boston — Owned Outright: 31.4% Boston — Mortgage: 61.0% Boston — Renting: 7.6%
Hawson 9.1% renting
Hawson — Owned Outright: 52.3% Hawson — Mortgage: 38.6% Hawson — Renting: 9.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Boston 99.2% houses
Boston — Houses: 99.2% Boston — Flats / Apartments: 0.8%
Hawson 100.0% houses
Hawson — Houses: 100.0% Hawson — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Boston Hawson
Certificate III & IV 18.6% / 12.6%
Boston — Certificate III & IV: 18.6% Hawson — Certificate III & IV: 12.6%
Bachelor Degree 8.6% / 12.6%
Boston — Bachelor Degree: 8.6% Hawson — Bachelor Degree: 12.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.3% / 6.7%
Boston — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.3% Hawson — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.5% / —
Boston — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5% Hawson — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest
Postgraduate Degree 1.4% / —
Boston — Postgraduate Degree: 1.4% Hawson — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.6%).

Property market

Boston Hawson
Median house price $895,000 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $435,071 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 56 days
from 6 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Boston Hawson
Rural and farming 99% 100%
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

Boston Hawson
New dwellings approved 39
across Lower Eyre Peninsula
same for both
Approvals change year on year +29%
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.

Boston Hawson
Houses 3.1%
$750/wk on $1.27M
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within SA

Boston Hawson
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 88% of SA Higher than 42% of SA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 35% of SA Higher than 2% of SA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 3% of SA Higher than 1% of SA
NBN connectivity Higher than 62% of SA Higher than 50% of SA
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 17% of SA —

Liveability

Boston Hawson
Grade B —
Score 57/100 —
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Boston Hawson
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
18/100
 Low
27/100
Flood —
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
same for both

Schools

Boston Hawson
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Amenities in the suburb

Boston Hawson
Parks & reserves 1 0
Waterways 0 1

Mobility

Hawson sits further from the CBD (652.4 km vs 648.1 km).

Boston Hawson
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Adelaide 648.1 km 652.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 423 min 428 min
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 5607
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 59
postcode 5607
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.

Boston Hawson
Car (driver) 87.3% / 81.1%
Boston — Car (driver): 87.3% Hawson — Car (driver): 81.1%
Worked from Home 7.4% / 13.2%
Boston — Worked from Home: 7.4% Hawson — Worked from Home: 13.2%
Walked Only 1.4% / 5.7%
Boston — Walked Only: 1.4% Hawson — Walked Only: 5.7%
Car (passenger) 3.9% / —
Boston — Car (passenger): 3.9% Hawson — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (87.3%).

Setting

Boston Hawson
Elevation 129 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 77 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.7 km 6.2 km

NBN connectivity

Boston Hawson
Connectivity score 30/100
same for both
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
364 premises
 0%
53 premises

Council rates

Boston Hawson
Average residential rate $1,789/yr
same for both
Council Lower Eyre Peninsula
same for both

Federal electorate

Boston Hawson
Division Grey
same for both
Member Tom Venning
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Boston Hawson
Grant amount $15,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Boston

Acreage Coastal Family

Hawson

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Boston

Boston vs Port Lincoln Boston vs Tiatukia Boston vs Duck Ponds

Other comparisons with Hawson

Hawson vs Tiatukia Hawson vs Duck Ponds Hawson vs Coomunga
Full data on Boston Full data on Hawson
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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or