Elizabeth Town vs Sassafras
Sassafras is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 51 in Elizabeth Town. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Elizabeth Town, about half of households are people living alone. In Sassafras, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Elizabeth Town: a median of $738,000, against $540,000 in Sassafras, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Elizabeth Town tends to suit people living alone, while Sassafras suits couples 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
Sassafras
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
- is already more of a family suburb (69% vs 49%)
- But Elizabeth Town has more parks and reserves (6 vs 2)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Sassafras
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($540,000 vs $737,500)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Sassafras
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (18% vs 8%)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 25%)
- has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $300/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Elizabeth Town
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (243.8 km vs 260.2 km)
- has a shorter drive in (169 min vs 180 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
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
Elizabeth Town and Sassafras 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
Elizabeth Town rents higher ($300/wk vs $250/wk); Sassafras has higher household incomes ($73,372 vs $61,724).
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 299 | 352 +18% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +3.1% | +1.4% |
| Median age | 51 | 46 |
| Median household income | $61,724/yr | $73,372/yr +19% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk +17% vs other | $250/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.7%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.2%).
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 (5.0%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $737,500 | $540,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Sassafras has more rural and farming land (97% vs 82%).
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 82% | 97% |
| Environmental | 12% | 3% |
| Residential | 5% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 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
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 202 across Meander Valley | 93 across Latrobe (Tas.) |
| Approvals change year on year | +67% | +9% |
Ranking within TAS
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 39% of TAS | Higher than 62% of TAS |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 27% of TAS | Higher than 65% of TAS |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 58% of TAS | Higher than 54% of TAS |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 42% of TAS | Higher than 48% of TAS |
Liveability
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 |
Risk profile
Sassafras carries more bushfire risk (29 vs 16).
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 16/100 | Low 29/100 |
| 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
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Elizabeth Town
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Sassafras
- Sassafras Primary School Government · Primary above peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 same for both | |
| Parks & reserves | 6 | 2 |
| Fuel stations | 1 same for both | |
| Waterways | 1 | 2 |
Mobility
Sassafras sits further from the CBD (260.2 km vs 243.8 km).
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Hobart | 243.8 km | 260.2 km +7% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 169 min | 180 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 7304 | 0.5% postcode 7307 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 32 postcode 7304 | 30 postcode 7307 |
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 (78.9%).
Setting
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 214 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 122 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 29.1 km | 15.5 km |
NBN connectivity
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 139 premises | 0% 131 premises |
Climate
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 720 mm | 698 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | — | 21.6°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | — | 5.1°C |
Council rates
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $875/yr | $1,123/yr |
| Council | Meander Valley | Latrobe (Tas.) |
Federal electorate
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Lyons | Braddon |
| Member | Rebecca White | Anne Urquhart |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Elizabeth Town | Sassafras | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $20,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Elizabeth Town
Other comparisons with Sassafras
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.