Perth’s coast continues its reign as the enclave for Western Australia’s richest postcodes, but wealth is being pushed towards outer suburbs by soaring property prices, population growth and a desire for more space.
An analysis of the 2021 census highlights the extent to which the housing boom – and the coronavirus pandemic – are sculpting the distribution of WA’s wealth.
The list of Perth’s top 10 most affluent suburbs has changed little over the past decade and remains concentrated across a bloc of postcodes close to the city and the coast.
The prestigious beachside suburb of Cottesloe retained its position as Perth’s highest-earning suburb, with a median weekly individual income of $1458, followed by Mt Hawthorn/Leederville ($1280) and North Coogee ($1238).
Scarborough moved down to fourth spot in the 2021 census, with a median weekly income of $1232. City Beach moved up one spot to claim fifth position on $1228. Swanbourne/Mount Claremont returned to the top 10 in eighth place with a median weekly income of $1178.
The southern suburbs of Bentley, Wilson and St James recorded the biggest percentage increase in median individual weekly income soaring from $420 in 2011 to $711 over the past decade.
In Manning and Waterford the median rose from $557 in 2011 to $805 in 2021, an increase of 34 per cent over the past five years.
Rivervale has also experienced rapid growth in income, rising from a median of $679 in 2011 to $1015 in the 2021 census outstripping the metropolitan average of $848.
University of Western Australia demographer Amanda Davies said suburbs like Victoria Park had undergone gentrification, transforming from a working-class neighbourhood to a sought-after city-fringe location.
East Victoria Park and Carlisle has experienced a rapid increase in wealth from a median of $701 a week in 2011 to $1014 a decade later.
“Twenty years ago Vic Park was a working-class suburb but now it is booming with multimillion-dollar properties that is really driving a change in the demographics,” Davies said.
“We will continue to see premium prices for houses in this area as well as Waterford, Manning and Rivervale which is very attractive to professional families.”
Davies said the significant urban infill program underway in Perth to address population growth would drive the development of more high-quality, multi-storey apartments along major transport corridors in inner-city areas.
Further-flung parts of Perth have also experienced a rapid growth in wealth. In Guildford, the median individual income shot up from $714 in 2011 to $1017 in 2021, a rise of nearly 30 per cent.
In the Perth Hills, Glen Forrest and Darlington recorded a median income of $915 in 2021, up 25 per cent from $701 a decade earlier. It’s a similar story in Chittering where the median sits at $798 per cent, a 24.5 per cent rise over the past five years.
Perth property analyst Gavin Hegney said the work-from-home trend started by the pandemic and accelerated by technology had the potential to shift buyer preferences as the need to be nearer the CBD had changed.
“People have revalued not only what’s in a home but what’s in the locality as people spend more time in their home and their neighbourhood,” he said.
“Areas to benefit include coastal suburbs to the north and south and lifestyle areas such as Darlington and Kalamunda which continue to offer both aspirational housing and an alternate relaxed lifestyle.
“Aspirational housing continues to be in demand in areas like Cottesloe and City Beach and this has extended to regional areas such as Dunsborough, Yallingup and Margaret River as second home areas of choice.”
The rapid growth in wealth has coincided with a pandemic-fuelled house price surge with Mt Hawthorn recording a 33 per cent increase in value to reach a median value of $1.25 million over the past financial year.
Mt Claremont recorded a 27.5 per cent increase to reach a median value of $1.78 million. City Beach had an annual growth rate of 20 per cent to reach a median of $2.35 million.
The Agency general manager Stuart Cox said there were advantages and disadvantages to gentrification.
“Obviously, the areas benefit from an injection of money on the hyper local community, think of the Mount Hawthorn and Leederville lifestyle benefits of the cafes and restaurants which have opened up,” he said.
“The downside is that it affects the affordability of these areas to people who would have previously been able to buy in these suburbs.“
Across the state the suburb with the highest median individual income is Ashburton, where half of the adult population earns at least $1865 a week. Second on the list is Port Hedland, at $1841 a week.
The suburbs in the Pilbara don’t just rank as number one and two for income in WA – they rank highest for all of Australia thanks to its booming iron ore industry.
The suburb with the lowest median individual income is Halls Creek in the state’s Kimberley region with $362 a week. For all of WA, the median individual weekly income is $848.
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