Fern Tree vs Ridgeway
Ridgeway is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 45 in Fern Tree. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Fern Tree, about half of households are couple families. In Ridgeway, most households are couple families. Ridgeway is closer to the city centre: 7.1 km, against 13.4 km. On these figures, Fern Tree tends to suit people living alone, while Ridgeway suits 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
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Fern Tree has more parks and reserves (5 vs 2)
- Ridgeway is already more of a family suburb (80% vs 63%)
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
Ridgeway
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 23%)
- has cheaper rent ($400/wk vs $450/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Ridgeway
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (7.1 km vs 13.4 km)
- has a shorter drive in (16 min vs 27 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Fern Tree
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- has more residents already 65 and over (18% vs 12%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Ridgeway
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (26.9% vs 5.1%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Fern Tree and Ridgeway 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
Fern Tree has more residents (763 vs 222); Ridgeway has higher household incomes ($132,860 vs $103,480).
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 763 +71% vs other | 222 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +5.1% | +26.9% |
| Median age | 45 | 41 |
| Median household income | $103,480/yr | $132,860/yr +28% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $450/wk +11% vs other | $400/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.7%).
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 (25.3%).
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 (8.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $802,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 13 days from 5 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 87% | 85% |
| Rural and farming | 11% same for both | |
| Parks and recreation | 0% | 2% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 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
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 163 across Hobart same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -76% same for both | |
Ranking within TAS
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 91% of TAS | Higher than 99% of TAS |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 78% of TAS | Higher than 82% of TAS |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 95% of TAS | Higher than 96% of TAS |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 74% of TAS | Higher than 64% of TAS |
Liveability
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | — |
| Score | 55/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 97/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| 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 | 3 within 5 km |
Schools
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
| Universities within 10 km | 1 Hobart, 6.7 km | 1 Hobart, 4.4 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.2% | 1.8% |
Schools in Fern Tree
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Ridgeway
- St Michael's Collegiate School - Sports Campus Independent · Combined
Amenities in the suburb
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 5 | 2 |
| GPs | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 3 | 4 |
Mobility
Fern Tree sits further from the CBD (13.4 km vs 7.1 km).
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 12/100 | 16/100 |
| Distance to Hobart | 13.4 km +47% vs other | 7.1 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 27 min | 16 min |
| Public transport score | 82/100 Bus | 23/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 24.0 7-9am + 5-7pm | 1.5 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual | 30 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.0% postcode 7054 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 41 postcode 7054 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 (78.7%).
Setting
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 263 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 317 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 6.6 km | 4.3 km 4.4 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 42/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 319 premises | 0% 74 premises |
Climate
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | — same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,818/yr same for both | |
| Council | Hobart same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Clark same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Wilkie same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Fern Tree | Ridgeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $20,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Fern Tree
Ridgeway
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Fern Tree
Other comparisons with Ridgeway
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.