Bentley vs St James

In Bentley, most households rent and about half of households are people living alone. In St James, about half of households rent and most homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in St James: a median of $886,000, against $791,000 in Bentley. St James is closer to the city centre: 8.2 km, against 9.5 km. On these figures, Bentley tends to suit renters, people living alone, and older residents.

Bentley is nearly twice the size of St James with 9051 residents compared to 4894, though both have a median age of 32 years. St James stands out for higher median household income at $95,004 versus Bentley's $63,024, and significantly outperforms on liveability (75 versus 49) and walkability (89 versus 77), sitting slightly closer to the CBD at 8.2 km. House prices are lower in Bentley at $785,500 against $886,000, and units follow a similar pattern; Bentley offers better rental yields on units at 6.3 percent. St James suits buyers prioritising walkability, proximity to the city, and a higher-income neighbourhood, while Bentley appeals to those seeking more affordable entry prices and stronger unit investment returns.

Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.

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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Bentley has more parks and reserves (34 vs 6)
  • St James has more separate houses rather than flats (70% vs 37%)

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

First-home buyers

They split

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

  • Bentley has cheaper units ($582,000 vs $670,000)
  • St James has cheaper land ($790,000 vs $1,400,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Bentley has a bigger rental market to choose from (65% vs 48%)
  • St James leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 26%)

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

Commuting to the city

St James

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (89/100 vs 77/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Bentley

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 9%)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (63% vs 30%)
  • But St James is more walkable (89/100 vs 77/100)

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

Investors

Bentley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on units (6.1% vs 4.4%)

Weighs house yield, unit yield, and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Bentley St James
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.

Bentley St James
Walkability 77 / 89
Bentley — Walkability: 77/100 St James — Walkability: 89/100
Safety 11 / 13
Bentley — Safety: 11/100 St James — Safety: 13/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Bentley — Low fire risk: 100/100 St James — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Bentley — Low flood risk: 100/100 St James — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Bentley has more residents (9,051 vs 4,894); St James has higher household incomes ($95,004 vs $63,024).

Bentley St James
Population 9,051
+46% vs other
 4,894
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.1% -0.2%
Median age 32
same for both
Median household income $63,024/yr $95,004/yr
+51% vs other
Median weekly rent $320/wk $330/wk
+3% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Bentley St James
0-4 3.7% / 5.9%
Bentley — 0-4: 3.7% St James — 0-4: 5.9%
5-14 6.1% / 8.9%
Bentley — 5-14: 6.1% St James — 5-14: 8.9%
15-19 4.9% / 5.1%
Bentley — 15-19: 4.9% St James — 15-19: 5.1%
20-24 16.2% / 10.7%
Bentley — 20-24: 16.2% St James — 20-24: 10.7%
25-34 24.3% / 24.5%
Bentley — 25-34: 24.3% St James — 25-34: 24.5%
35-44 11.7% / 14.9%
Bentley — 35-44: 11.7% St James — 35-44: 14.9%
45-54 6.7% / 11.4%
Bentley — 45-54: 6.7% St James — 45-54: 11.4%
55-64 5.2% / 9.3%
Bentley — 55-64: 5.2% St James — 55-64: 9.3%
65-74 6.0% / 5.9%
Bentley — 65-74: 6.0% St James — 65-74: 5.9%
75-84 8.0% / 2.3%
Bentley — 75-84: 8.0% St James — 75-84: 2.3%
85+ 7.2% / 1.2%
Bentley — 85+: 7.2% St James — 85+: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Bentley 48.6% lone person
Bentley — Lone Person: 48.6% Bentley — Couple Families: 19.2% Bentley — Group Household: 19.4% Bentley — One Parent Families: 9.1% Bentley — Other Families: 3.8%
St James 39.5% lone person
St James — Lone Person: 39.5% St James — Couple Families: 31.5% St James — Group Household: 14.2% St James — One Parent Families: 11.9% St James — Other Families: 2.8%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Bentley 65.0% renting
Bentley — Owned Outright: 16.7% Bentley — Mortgage: 18.3% Bentley — Renting: 65.0%
St James 47.6% renting
St James — Owned Outright: 18.3% St James — Mortgage: 34.0% St James — Renting: 47.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Bentley St James
Bachelor Degree 16.8% / 20.2%
Bentley — Bachelor Degree: 16.8% St James — Bachelor Degree: 20.2%
Certificate III & IV 8.1% / 11.6%
Bentley — Certificate III & IV: 8.1% St James — Certificate III & IV: 11.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.9% / 8.2%
Bentley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.9% St James — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2%
Postgraduate Degree 8.3% / 7.7%
Bentley — Postgraduate Degree: 8.3% St James — Postgraduate Degree: 7.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.4% / 2.4%
Bentley — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4% St James — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.2%).

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.

Bentley St James
India 5.7% / 3.4%
Bentley — India: 5.7% St James — India: 3.4%
England 3.7% / 4.2%
Bentley — England: 3.7% St James — England: 4.2%
Malaysia 5.0% / 2.7%
Bentley — Malaysia: 5.0% St James — Malaysia: 2.7%
China 3.4% / 2.1%
Bentley — China: 3.4% St James — China: 2.1%
New Zealand 1.6% / 2.0%
Bentley — New Zealand: 1.6% St James — New Zealand: 2.0%
Indonesia 2.7% / —
Bentley — Indonesia: 2.7% St James — Indonesia: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Bentley 37.3% houses
Bentley — Houses: 37.3% Bentley — Townhouses: 48.6% Bentley — Flats / Apartments: 14.1%
St James 70.0% houses
St James — Houses: 70.0% St James — Townhouses: 25.7% St James — Flats / Apartments: 4.3%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Bentley St James
Median house price $790,756 $886,000
Median unit price $582,000 $670,000
Median land price $1,400,000 $790,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 38 days
from 74 sales
 24 days
from 38 sales

Unit price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Bentley St James
2 bed $552K / $575K
Bentley — 2 bed: $552K (12 sales) St James — 2 bed: $575K (10 sales)

12 vs 10 sales

3 bed $620K / $775K
Bentley — 3 bed: $620K (14 sales) St James — 3 bed: $775K (11 sales)

14 vs 11 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Bentley St James
2 bed $555K / $825K
Bentley — 2 bed: $555K (13 sales) St James — 2 bed: $825K (9 sales)

13 vs 9 sales

3 bed $785K / $875K
Bentley — 3 bed: $785K (46 sales) St James — 3 bed: $875K (46 sales)

46 vs 46 sales

4 bed $836K / $905K
Bentley — 4 bed: $836K (47 sales) St James — 4 bed: $905K (21 sales)

47 vs 21 sales

5 bed $918K / $1.01M
Bentley — 5 bed: $918K (8 sales) St James — 5 bed: $1.01M (7 sales)

8 vs 7 sales

Development activity

Bentley St James
New dwellings approved 423
across Canning
same for both
Approvals change year on year -3%
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.

Bentley St James
Houses 4.9%
$805/wk on $850K
 4.5%
$790/wk on $919K
Units 6.1%
$698/wk on $599K
 4.4%
$600/wk on $702K

Ranking within WA

Bentley St James
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 21% of WA Higher than 59% of WA
Schools Higher than 26% of WA —
Walkability Higher than 93% of WA Higher than 99% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 88% of WA
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 77% of WA Higher than 95% of WA
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 80% of WA Higher than 56% of WA
Rental yield (units) Higher than 81% of WA Higher than 14% of WA

Liveability

St James scores higher overall (75 vs 49); St James is more walkable (89 vs 77).

Bentley St James
Grade B A
Score 49/100 75/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 3/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Bentley St James
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
89/100
 High
87/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 14
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Bentley St James
Inside the suburb 4 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 2 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 3
Curtin University of Technology, 0.0 km
 3
Curtin University of Technology, 0.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 9.4% 5.5%

Schools in Bentley

  • Al-Hidayah Islamic School Independent · Primary at peers
  • Bentley Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Canning College Government · Secondary
  • School Of Special Educational Needs: Medical And Mental Health - Bentley Hospital Government · Combined · Special school

Schools in St James

  • Santa Clara School Catholic · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Bentley St James
Supermarkets 4 1
Cafes & restaurants 16 1
Parks & reserves 34 6
Childcare 4
same for both
GPs 2 3
Pharmacies 3
same for both
Hospitals 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 3 0
EV chargers 2 1
Waterways 3 0

Mobility

Bentley St James
Walkability score 77/100 89/100
Distance to Perth 9.5 km
+14% vs other
 8.2 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 16 min 13 min
Public transport score 94/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 622.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 136.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 1.3%
postcode 6102
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 27
postcode 6102
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.

Bentley St James
Car (driver) 70.1% / 71.5%
Bentley — Car (driver): 70.1% St James — Car (driver): 71.5%
Bus 12.0% / 9.6%
Bentley — Bus: 12.0% St James — Bus: 9.6%
Worked from Home 5.0% / 7.4%
Bentley — Worked from Home: 5.0% St James — Worked from Home: 7.4%
Car (passenger) 5.5% / 6.6%
Bentley — Car (passenger): 5.5% St James — Car (passenger): 6.6%
Train 3.9% / 2.1%
Bentley — Train: 3.9% St James — Train: 2.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (71.5%).

Setting

Bentley St James
Elevation 18 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 19 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 14.7 km
3.3 km to a named beach
 15.0 km
4.0 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Bentley St James
Connectivity score 64/100 89/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 34%
4,981 premises
 79%
2,392 premises

Climate

Bentley St James
Annual rainfall 745 mm 663 mm
Summer max (Jan) 31.4°C 32.3°C
Winter min (Jul) 7.6°C 8.5°C

Council rates

Bentley St James
Average residential rate $1,833/yr
same for both
Council Canning
same for both

Federal electorate

Bentley St James
Division Swan
same for both
Member Zaneta Mascarenhas
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Bentley St James
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Bentley

Easy Commute Inner Multicultural Parks Students Townhouses Transport Hub

St James

Easy Commute Inner Parks Townhouses Transport Hub

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Bentley

Bentley vs Como Bentley vs East Victoria Park Bentley vs Queens Park Bentley vs Cannington Bentley vs Wilson Bentley vs Kensington

Other comparisons with St James

St James vs East Victoria Park
Full data on Bentley Full data on St James
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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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