Balladong vs Cold Harbour
Cold Harbour is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 53 in Balladong. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Balladong, about half of households are people living alone. In Cold Harbour, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Balladong tends to suit people living alone, while Cold Harbour suits families with children and couples.
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
Cold Harbour
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (71% vs 48%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Balladong
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 29%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Balladong
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 21%)
- has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $350/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Balladong
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (81 min vs 92 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (93.6 km vs 106.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Too close to call
Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Cold Harbour
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (42.1% vs 20.8%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Balladong and Cold Harbour 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
Cold Harbour rents higher ($350/wk vs $250/wk); Balladong skews older (53 vs 48).
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 93 | 108 +16% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +20.8% | +42.1% |
| Median age | 53 | 48 |
| Median household income | $93,184/yr +5% vs other | $88,348/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $250/wk | $350/wk +40% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.2%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (7.5%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (12.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Development activity
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 31 across York same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -50% same for both | |
Ranking within WA
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 57% of WA | Higher than 52% of WA |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 67% of WA | Higher than 65% of WA |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 28% of WA | Higher than 29% of WA |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 57% of WA | Higher than 58% of WA |
Liveability
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 |
Risk profile
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 17/100 | Low 16/100 |
| Flood | Low 34/100 same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Waterways | 1 | 0 |
Mobility
Cold Harbour sits further from the CBD (106.1 km vs 93.6 km).
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 4/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Perth | 93.6 km | 106.1 km +13% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 81 min | 92 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 6302 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 66 postcode 6302 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 (82.9%).
Setting
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 245 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 239 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 52 premises | 0% 50 premises |
Climate
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 399 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $4,433/yr same for both | |
| Council | York same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bullwinkel same for both | |
| Member | Trish Cook same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Balladong | Cold Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $800,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Balladong
Other comparisons with Cold Harbour
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.