Australia
Adelaide makes sense if
- Access to stronger healthcare matters most to you.
- You want the broader career options in this comparison.
- You want the deeper culture and food scene.
Adelaide vs Hobart
Adelaide offers a broader job market in defence, healthcare, universities and manufacturing, along with a higher healthcare result. Hobart has a smaller employment base and a more immediate mountain setting beneath kunanyi/Mount Wellington. Housing takes a similar share of typical local pay in both, and their public-life scores are equal.
The grey shape is all 283 cities; each row says whether lower or higher is better. Ratings out of 10 are our reviewed estimates; the rest is published data. How we measure
The choice in one minute
Hobart makes sense if
- A calmer day-to-day safety profile matters most to you.
What matters to you
Set how much each area counts. The ranking updates as you go. Climate and values are left out because there is no better or worse there, only your taste.
Money
Nature & outdoors
City life
Safety & health
Work & family
Moving & settling in
- 1Adelaide70
Leads on work & family and moving & settling in; stands out for professional network and startup & tech scene.
- 2Hobart68
Leads on nature & outdoors; stands out for mountains and milder summers.
Scores out of 100, averaged from the areas you weighted. For a ranking built around your own situation, take the quiz.
Side by side
Money
Rent on a new lease, everyday prices and tax.
Section score out of 100
Adelaide64Hobart64
One-bedroom rent
Per month, new lease, citywide
A$194/moA$3,524/mo
- A$1,824/mo
- A$1,719/mo
Rent as share of local pay
One-bedroom rent vs. typical net local pay
21%120%
- ~35%
- ~34%
Everyday prices
Excluding rent · United States = 100
25131
- 99
- 99
Income tax + social contributions
Range: average-wage rate to top marginal rate; the dot marks its midpoint
0%46%
- 24–47%
- 24–47%
Climate
The year month by month. Whether it suits you is yours to judge.
Solid line: average daytime high. Dashed: night-time low. Point at the chart for any month; point at a city name to shade its range.
Bright days
Under 80% cloud and under 1 mm rain
30 days347 days
- 244 days, leads
- 188 days
Muggy days
Days that feel sticky (dew point)
0 days365 days
- 10 days
- 3 days
Air pollution
Annual mean fine particles (PM2.5)
4.6 µg/m³84 µg/m³
- 5.5 µg/m³
- 4.9 µg/m³
Nature & outdoors
How easily you get to water, mountains and green space.
Section score out of 100
Hobart78Adelaide64
Beach & sea
110
- 8/10, leads
- 6/10
Mountains
110
- 5/10
- 9/10, leads
City parks
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Weekend escapes
110
- 8/10
- 10/10, leads
City life
Getting around on foot, food, culture and the feel of the streets.
Section score out of 100
Adelaide79Hobart76
Walkability
110
- 6/10
- 6/10
Public transport
110
- 6/10, leads
- 4/10
Restaurants
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Public spaces
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Safety & health
Crime, how safe people feel, and the care you would get.
Section score out of 100
Adelaide79Hobart77
Homicide rate
Per 100,000 residents per year
0.247
- 0.9
- 0.9
Feels safe day to day
110
- 9/10
- 9/10
Healthcare quality
110
- 9/10, leads
- 7/10
English-speaking care
110
- 10/10
- 10/10
Work & family
Jobs, working culture, schools and raising kids.
Section score out of 100
Adelaide70Hobart61
Job market
110
- 7/10, leads
- 5/10
Jobs in English
110
- 10/10
- 10/10
Work–life balance
110
- 8/10
- 8/10
Schools
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Moving & settling in
Visas, language, paperwork and staying connected.
Section score out of 100
Adelaide62Hobart54
Visa & residence difficulty
Typical case; your passport changes this
110
- 6/10
- 6/10
Language barrier
For an English speaker
110
- 1/10
- 1/10
Openness to newcomers
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
Flight connections
110
- 6/10, leads
- 4/10
Society & values
Where each city sits. There is no right end of these scales.
Social attitudes
ConservativeLiberal
- 8/10
- 9/10
LGBTQ+ acceptance
LowHigh
- 9/10
- 9/10
Diversity
HomogeneousDiverse
- 8/10
- 6/10
Religion in public life
ReligiousSecular
- 8/10
- 9/10
Life in each city
Daily life
Adelaide
The famous grid keeps the centre legible and the surrounding neighbourhoods are pleasant and roomy, with houses that come with real space, a luxury in pricier capitals. Density is low, walkable mixed-use pockets are limited, and the overall pace is gentle to the point of sleepy.
Hobart
That keeps neighbourhoods roomy and suburban life calm, but it also means limited mixed-use urbanism, modest walkability, and strong reliance on cars. The centre has workable walking pockets, while the wider city feels more like a large town.
Safety
Adelaide
Adelaide is very safe. Violent crime is rare, the streets feel calm after dark, and residents report a strong everyday sense of security.
Hobart
Violent crime is rare, the streets feel calm after dark, and residents report a strong everyday sense of security. Traffic is light and the small scale keeps things orderly.
Work and healthcare
Adelaide
Adelaide offers a credible English-speaking market and low unemployment, with local pay high by the standards of this corpus. Healthcare is dependable, anchored in Australia's universal Medicare system with solid hospitals and reliable emergency care.
Hobart
The weakest part of the picture by a wide margin. Care is solid and entirely English-speaking, with competent hospitals and reasonable emergency cover.
Culture and public life
Adelaide
Food and wine are where Adelaide punches above its size, with a strong cafe and restaurant scene fed by the surrounding vineyards and a calendar of festivals that briefly turns the quiet city loud. Adelaide is clean and orderly, its parklands ring and the Torrens riverbank kept in good order, North Terrace lined with free state museums and galleries.
Hobart
Restaurants and produce are well regarded, even if the range is narrower than the mainland capitals. Hobart is clean and compact, its historic Salamanca waterfront genuinely walkable and well-kept.
Summary
Moving to Hobart brings kunanyi/Mount Wellington close to home and narrows the pool of local employers. Settle the work question before choosing that mountain setting. Adelaide leaves more options across defence, health and universities, and Hobart's slightly cheaper rent offers little extra relief relative to local pay.
Read on
Which of these fits you?
These numbers treat everyone the same. The quiz weighs them by your budget, climate taste, family and work, and ranks all 283 cities for you.