Ardrossan vs James Well
Ardrossan is the younger of the two, with a median age of 61 against 66 in James Well. In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Ardrossan: a median of $540,000, against $440,000 in James Well, though rent is higher in James Well. On these figures, James Well tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and 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
James Well
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 84%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, and childcare.
First-home buyers
James Well
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($440,000 vs $540,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Ardrossan
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($228/wk vs $248/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Ardrossan
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (53/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (106 min vs 114 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (151.6 km vs 160 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Ardrossan is more walkable (53/100 vs 0/100)
- James Well has more residents already 65 and over (54% vs 44%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
James Well
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (40.0% vs 8.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Ardrossan and James Well 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
Ardrossan has more residents (1,269 vs 63); James Well skews older (66 vs 61).
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,269 +95% vs other | 63 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +8.7% | +40.0% |
| Median age | 61 | 66 |
| Median household income | $43,888/yr | $45,032/yr +3% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $228/wk | $248/wk +9% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (39.7%).
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 (23.8%).
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 (6.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $540,000 | $440,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $212,500 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 38 days from 17 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Ardrossan has more industrially zoned land (30% vs 0%); Ardrossan has more rural and farming land (48% vs 25%).
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 48% | 25% |
| Other and special use | 0% | 46% |
| Industrial | 30% | 0% |
| Residential | 6% | 22% |
| Environmental | 12% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 8% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 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
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 97 across Yorke Peninsula same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -18% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.6% $490/wk on $550K | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within SA
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 9% of SA | — |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 81% of SA | Higher than 57% of SA |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 17% of SA same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 78% of SA | Higher than 70% of SA |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 91% of SA | — |
Liveability
Ardrossan is more walkable (53 vs 0).
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 45/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 |
Risk profile
James Well carries more flood risk (75 vs 11).
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 51/100 | — |
| Flood | Low 11/100 | High 75/100 |
| Coastal erosion | Moderate 66/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Ardrossan
- Ardrossan Area School Government · Combined at peers
Schools in James Well
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 3 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 2 | 0 |
Mobility
James Well sits further from the CBD (160 km vs 151.6 km).
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 53/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 151.6 km | 160 km +6% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 106 min | 114 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 5571 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 55 postcode 5571 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 (81.4%).
Setting
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 32 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 6 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 302 m | 104 m |
NBN connectivity
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 64/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 36% 816 premises | 0% 143 premises |
Climate
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 295 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 27.8°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 7.2°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,494/yr same for both | |
| Council | Yorke Peninsula same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Grey same for both | |
| Member | Tom Venning same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Ardrossan | James Well | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Ardrossan
Other comparisons with James Well
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.