Rose Bay vs Montagu Bay

Montagu Bay is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 49 in Rose Bay. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Montagu Bay, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Rose Bay: a median of $929,000, against $736,000 in Montagu Bay, and rent is higher there too. Rose Bay is closer to the city centre: 4.7 km, against 5.3 km. On these figures, Rose Bay tends to suit older residents, while Montagu Bay suits 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

Montagu Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Montagu Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($736,500 vs $929,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Montagu Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $420/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Montagu Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (74/100 vs 65/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Rose Bay has more residents already 65 and over (29% vs 19%)
  • Montagu Bay is more walkable (74/100 vs 65/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.

Investors

Montagu Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.6% vs 3.5%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
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.

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Walkability 65 / 74
Rose Bay — Walkability: 65/100 Montagu Bay — Walkability: 74/100
Low fire risk 50 / 48
Rose Bay — Low fire risk: 50/100 Montagu Bay — Low fire risk: 48/100

Demographics

Rose Bay has more residents (1,188 vs 718); Rose Bay rents higher ($420/wk vs $350/wk).

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Population 1,188
+40% vs other
 718
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +7.8% +9.3%
Median age 49 43
Median household income $91,364/yr
+15% vs other
 $77,428/yr
Median weekly rent $420/wk
+17% vs other
 $350/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
0-4 4.3% / 5.3%
Rose Bay — 0-4: 4.3% Montagu Bay — 0-4: 5.3%
5-14 8.9% / 7.9%
Rose Bay — 5-14: 8.9% Montagu Bay — 5-14: 7.9%
15-19 4.5% / 5.3%
Rose Bay — 15-19: 4.5% Montagu Bay — 15-19: 5.3%
20-24 3.7% / 6.0%
Rose Bay — 20-24: 3.7% Montagu Bay — 20-24: 6.0%
25-34 12.1% / 14.8%
Rose Bay — 25-34: 12.1% Montagu Bay — 25-34: 14.8%
35-44 11.7% / 13.2%
Rose Bay — 35-44: 11.7% Montagu Bay — 35-44: 13.2%
45-54 11.4% / 12.4%
Rose Bay — 45-54: 11.4% Montagu Bay — 45-54: 12.4%
55-64 14.4% / 14.8%
Rose Bay — 55-64: 14.4% Montagu Bay — 55-64: 14.8%
65-74 15.0% / 9.2%
Rose Bay — 65-74: 15.0% Montagu Bay — 65-74: 9.2%
75-84 10.7% / 6.4%
Rose Bay — 75-84: 10.7% Montagu Bay — 75-84: 6.4%
85+ 3.4% / 3.6%
Rose Bay — 85+: 3.4% Montagu Bay — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Rose Bay 44.1% lone person
Rose Bay — Lone Person: 44.1% Rose Bay — Couple Families: 37.6% Rose Bay — One Parent Families: 14.4% Rose Bay — Group Household: 3.9%
Montagu Bay 48.5% lone person
Montagu Bay — Lone Person: 48.5% Montagu Bay — Couple Families: 30.0% Montagu Bay — One Parent Families: 18.1% Montagu Bay — Group Household: 3.5%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Rose Bay 22.9% renting
Rose Bay — Owned Outright: 48.0% Rose Bay — Mortgage: 29.1% Rose Bay — Renting: 22.9%
Montagu Bay 32.6% renting
Montagu Bay — Owned Outright: 38.2% Montagu Bay — Mortgage: 29.2% Montagu Bay — Renting: 32.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Bachelor Degree 19.4% / 15.5%
Rose Bay — Bachelor Degree: 19.4% Montagu Bay — Bachelor Degree: 15.5%
Certificate III & IV 12.0% / 13.9%
Rose Bay — Certificate III & IV: 12.0% Montagu Bay — Certificate III & IV: 13.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.0% / 7.4%
Rose Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.0% Montagu Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.4%
Postgraduate Degree 8.1% / 8.2%
Rose Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 8.1% Montagu Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 8.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4.1% / 3.6%
Rose Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.1% Montagu Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.4%).

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.

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
England 2.5% / 3.2%
Rose Bay — England: 2.5% Montagu Bay — England: 3.2%
China 2.7% / 1.9%
Rose Bay — China: 2.7% Montagu Bay — China: 1.9%
Nepal 1.9% / 1.0%
Rose Bay — Nepal: 1.9% Montagu Bay — Nepal: 1.0%
India 0.4% / 1.7%
Rose Bay — India: 0.4% Montagu Bay — India: 1.7%
New Zealand 1.1% / 0.7%
Rose Bay — New Zealand: 1.1% Montagu Bay — New Zealand: 0.7%
Philippines — / 1.0%
Rose Bay — Philippines: not among its largest Montagu Bay — Philippines: 1.0%
Netherlands 0.6% / —
Rose Bay — Netherlands: 0.6% Montagu Bay — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Rose Bay 88.9% houses
Rose Bay — Houses: 88.9% Rose Bay — Townhouses: 6.2% Rose Bay — Flats / Apartments: 4.9%
Montagu Bay 95.4% houses
Montagu Bay — Houses: 95.4% Montagu Bay — Townhouses: 4.3% Montagu Bay — Flats / Apartments: 0.3%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Median house price $929,000 $736,500
Median unit price $615,000 —
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 33 days
from 3 sales
 21 days
from 7 sales

Zoning mix

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Residential 71% 65%
Infrastructure and transport 24% 20%
Parks and recreation 3% 15%
Commercial 2% 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

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
New dwellings approved 291
across Clarence
same for both
Approvals change year on year +0%
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.

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Houses 3.5%
$585/wk on $874K
 4.6%
$648/wk on $725K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within TAS

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 82% of TAS Higher than 69% of TAS
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 95% of TAS Higher than 97% of TAS
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 84% of TAS Higher than 87% of TAS
NBN connectivity Higher than 98% of TAS Higher than 95% of TAS
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 20% of TAS Higher than 73% of TAS

Liveability

Montagu Bay is more walkable (74 vs 65).

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Grade A
same for both
Score 73/100 70/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Bushfire Moderate
50/100
 Moderate
52/100
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 13
within 5 km
 12
within 5 km

Schools

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 1
Hobart, 6.1 km
 1
Hobart, 5.5 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.3%
same for both

Schools in Rose Bay

  • Rose Bay High School Government · Secondary at peers

Schools in Montagu Bay

  • Montagu Bay Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Parks & reserves 1 0
Childcare 0 1

Mobility

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Walkability score 65/100 74/100
Distance to Hobart 4.7 km 5.3 km
+13% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 8 min 9 min
Public transport score 92/100
Bus
 69/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 33.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
 17.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 2 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 1.1%
postcode 7015
 1.3%
postcode 7018
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 26
postcode 7015
 27
postcode 7018

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.

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Car (driver) 68.6% / 68.9%
Rose Bay — Car (driver): 68.6% Montagu Bay — Car (driver): 68.9%
Worked from Home 10.0% / 8.3%
Rose Bay — Worked from Home: 10.0% Montagu Bay — Worked from Home: 8.3%
Bus 7.6% / 10.2%
Rose Bay — Bus: 7.6% Montagu Bay — Bus: 10.2%
Car (passenger) 8.5% / 7.9%
Rose Bay — Car (passenger): 8.5% Montagu Bay — Car (passenger): 7.9%
Walked Only 2.1% / 3.5%
Rose Bay — Walked Only: 2.1% Montagu Bay — Walked Only: 3.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (68.9%).

Setting

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Elevation 40 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 18 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 328 m
2.8 km to a named beach
 311 m
2.3 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Connectivity score 100/100
same for both
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 100%
567 premises
 100%
352 premises

Climate

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Annual rainfall 507 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Average residential rate $2,189/yr
same for both
Council Clarence
same for both

Federal electorate

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Division Franklin
same for both
Member Julie Collins
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Rose Bay Montagu Bay
Grant amount $20,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Rose Bay

Coastal Easy Commute Inner Premium Professionals Quiet Retirees Transport Hub

Montagu Bay

Coastal Easy Commute Inner Large Blocks Parks Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Rose Bay

Rose Bay vs Lindisfarne

Other comparisons with Montagu Bay

Montagu Bay vs Rosny
Full data on Rose Bay Full data on Montagu Bay
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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.

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