Christmas Hills vs Mella
Mella is the younger of the two, with a median age of 28 against 37 in Christmas Hills. In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Mella tends to suit young adults, 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
Mella
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (100% vs 56%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Christmas Hills has cheaper rent ($150/wk vs $200/wk)
- Mella has a bigger rental market to choose from (26% vs 8%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Mella
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (418.7 km vs 432.4 km)
- has a shorter drive in (302 min vs 308 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Mella
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (31.1% vs 10.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Christmas Hills and Mella drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Mella rents higher ($200/wk vs $150/wk); Christmas Hills skews older (37 vs 28).
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 127 +24% vs other | 97 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +10.4% | +31.1% |
| Median age | 37 | 28 |
| Median household income | $87,724/yr | $97,448/yr +11% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $150/wk | $200/wk +33% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.8%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.3%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (14.4%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Zoning mix
Mella has more rural and farming land (100% vs 83%); Christmas Hills has more land zoned for conservation (17% vs 0%).
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 83% | 100% |
| Environmental | 17% | 0% |
| 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
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 7 across Circular Head same for both | |
Ranking within TAS
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 81% of TAS | Higher than 88% of TAS |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 20% of TAS | Higher than 28% of TAS |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 3% of TAS same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 36% of TAS | Higher than 58% of TAS |
Liveability
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
Christmas Hills carries more bushfire risk (42 vs 0).
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 42/100 | None 0/100 |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 0 |
Mobility
Christmas Hills sits further from the CBD (432.4 km vs 418.7 km).
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Hobart | 432.4 km +3% vs other | 418.7 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 308 min | 302 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 7330 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 23 postcode 7330 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.0%).
Setting
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 105 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 19 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 19.5 km | 6.6 km |
NBN connectivity
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 28/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 49 premises | 0% 38 premises |
Climate
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,097 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Braddon same for both | |
| Member | Anne Urquhart same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Christmas Hills | Mella | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $20,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Mella
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Christmas Hills
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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.