Orford vs Spring Beach
In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Spring Beach: a median of $825,000, against $708,000 in Orford, and rent is higher there too.
Orford is the larger and more established community with 685 residents compared to Spring Beach's 129, offering more local amenities and a walkability score of 26 versus 10. Spring Beach commands higher median household income at $67,184 annually and median house prices around $825,000, while Orford's equivalent figures are $57,720 and $707,500. Both suburbs skew older with median ages around 62–63 years; Orford sits slightly closer to Hobart at 76.7 km. Orford may suit those prioritising community infrastructure and walkability, while Spring Beach appeals to buyers with stronger household income seeking a quieter, more exclusive setting.
Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.
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
Orford
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
- has more parks and reserves (7 vs 4)
- But Spring Beach is already more of a family suburb (44% vs 34%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Orford has cheaper houses ($707,500 vs $825,000)
- Spring Beach leaves households under less mortgage stress (17% vs 32%)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Orford
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (26/100 vs 10/100)
- has a shorter drive in (66 min vs 73 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (76.7 km vs 81.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Orford is more walkable (26/100 vs 10/100)
- Spring Beach has more residents already 65 and over (48% vs 42%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Where they sit
Orford and Spring Beach 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
Orford has more residents (685 vs 129); Spring Beach has higher household incomes ($67,184 vs $57,720).
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 685 +81% vs other | 129 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | — | +33.0% |
| Median age | 62 | 63 |
| Median household income | $57,720/yr | $67,184/yr +16% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $250/wk | $265/wk +6% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (31.8%).
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 (21.7%).
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 (3.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $707,500 | $825,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $350,000 | $370,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 53 days from 29 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Spring Beach has more rural and farming land (63% vs 34%); Orford has more land zoned for conservation (57% vs 29%).
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 34% | 63% |
| Environmental | 57% | 29% |
| Residential | 6% | 5% |
| Parks and recreation | 2% same for both | |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% same for both | |
| 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
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 49 across Glamorgan-Spring Bay same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -80% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.7% $510/wk on $712K | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within TAS
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 31% of TAS | Higher than 48% of TAS |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 87% of TAS | Higher than 72% of TAS |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 62% of TAS | Higher than 63% of TAS |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 88% of TAS | Higher than 75% of TAS |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 24% of TAS | — |
Liveability
Orford is more walkable (26 vs 10).
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 45/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | below-average income decile 3/10 |
Risk profile
Orford carries more bushfire risk (92 vs 81).
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 92/100 | High 81/100 |
| Crime | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 20/100 | Low 14/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Orford
- Orford Primary School Government · Primary above peers
Schools in Spring Beach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 4 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 7 | 4 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Beaches | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 14 | 3 |
Mobility
Spring Beach sits further from the CBD (81.3 km vs 76.7 km).
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 26/100 | 10/100 |
| Distance to Hobart | 76.7 km | 81.3 km +6% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 66 min | 73 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 7190 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 27 postcode 7190 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 (87.5%).
Setting
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 80 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 150 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 1.2 km 1.2 km to a named beach | 1.7 km 1.7 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 75/100 | 47/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fibre to the node |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 54% 967 premises | 5% 175 premises |
Climate
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 460 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 22.7°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.8°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,943/yr same for both | |
| Council | Glamorgan-Spring Bay same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Lyons same for both | |
| Member | Rebecca White same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Orford | Spring Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $20,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
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.