Bowelling vs Darkan

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Bowelling, most households are couple families. In Darkan, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Bowelling tends to suit couples, while Darkan suits people living alone and older residents.

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

  • Bowelling is already more of a family suburb (67% vs 43%)
  • Darkan has more parks and reserves (7 vs 3)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Darkan

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper rent ($151/wk vs $275/wk)
  • leaves renters under less rental stress (11% vs 17%)

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

Commuting to the city

Darkan

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (208.3 km vs 242.4 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (157 min vs 168 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • Bowelling carries lower crime risk (64/100 vs 75/100)
  • Darkan has more residents already 65 and over (23% vs 13%)

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

Investors

Bowelling

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (1.2% vs -7.9%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Bowelling Darkan
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.

Bowelling Darkan
Walkability 0 / 0
Bowelling — Walkability: 0/100 Darkan — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 36 / 25
Bowelling — Safety: 36/100 Darkan — Safety: 25/100
Low fire risk 33 / 51
Bowelling — Low fire risk: 33/100 Darkan — Low fire risk: 51/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Bowelling — Low flood risk: 100/100 Darkan — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Darkan has more residents (371 vs 84); Bowelling rents higher ($275/wk vs $151/wk).

Bowelling Darkan
Population 84 371
+342% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +1.2% -7.9%
Median age 48 49
Median household income $82,836/yr
+17% vs other
 $68,692/yr
Median weekly rent $275/wk
+45% vs other
 $151/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Bowelling Darkan
0-4 — / 5.4%
Bowelling — 0-4: not among its largest Darkan — 0-4: 5.4%
5-14 17.9% / 12.7%
Bowelling — 5-14: 17.9% Darkan — 5-14: 12.7%
15-19 — / 4.0%
Bowelling — 15-19: not among its largest Darkan — 15-19: 4.0%
20-24 — / 4.6%
Bowelling — 20-24: not among its largest Darkan — 20-24: 4.6%
25-34 — / 7.3%
Bowelling — 25-34: not among its largest Darkan — 25-34: 7.3%
35-44 7.1% / 12.9%
Bowelling — 35-44: 7.1% Darkan — 35-44: 12.9%
45-54 25.0% / 13.7%
Bowelling — 45-54: 25.0% Darkan — 45-54: 13.7%
55-64 14.3% / 17.0%
Bowelling — 55-64: 14.3% Darkan — 55-64: 17.0%
65-74 9.5% / 12.9%
Bowelling — 65-74: 9.5% Darkan — 65-74: 12.9%
75-84 3.6% / 7.0%
Bowelling — 75-84: 3.6% Darkan — 75-84: 7.0%
85+ — / 3.2%
Bowelling — 85+: not among its largest Darkan — 85+: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Bowelling 66.7% couple families
Bowelling — Couple Families: 66.7% Bowelling — Lone Person: 33.3% Bowelling — One Parent Families: 0.0% Bowelling — Group Household: 0.0%
Darkan 35.8% couple families
Darkan — Couple Families: 35.8% Darkan — Lone Person: 51.6% Darkan — One Parent Families: 7.4% Darkan — Group Household: 5.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Bowelling 15.2% renting
Bowelling — Owned Outright: 54.5% Bowelling — Mortgage: 30.3% Bowelling — Renting: 15.2%
Darkan 21.8% renting
Darkan — Owned Outright: 56.4% Darkan — Mortgage: 21.8% Darkan — Renting: 21.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Bowelling 100.0% houses
Bowelling — Houses: 100.0% Bowelling — Townhouses: 0.0% Bowelling — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Darkan 92.4% houses
Darkan — Houses: 92.4% Darkan — Townhouses: 4.2% Darkan — Flats / Apartments: 3.5%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Bowelling Darkan
Certificate III & IV 14.3% / 15.1%
Bowelling — Certificate III & IV: 14.3% Darkan — Certificate III & IV: 15.1%
Bachelor Degree 3.6% / 8.1%
Bowelling — Bachelor Degree: 3.6% Darkan — Bachelor Degree: 8.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma — / 5.7%
Bowelling — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: not among its largest Darkan — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 1.6%
Bowelling — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Darkan — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.1%).

Property market

Bowelling Darkan
Median house price — $290,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price — $70,000

Development activity

Bowelling Darkan
New dwellings approved 3
across West Arthur
same for both

Ranking within WA

Bowelling Darkan
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 45% of WA Higher than 27% of WA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 2% of WA Higher than 37% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 13% of WA Higher than 57% of WA
NBN connectivity Higher than 1% of WA Higher than 21% of WA

Liveability

Bowelling Darkan
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 9/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Bowelling carries more bushfire risk (67 vs 49); Darkan carries more crime risk (75 vs 64).

Bowelling Darkan
Bushfire Moderate
67/100
 Moderate
49/100
Crime Moderate
64/100
 High
75/100
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 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Bowelling Darkan
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Bowelling

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Darkan

  • Darkan Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Bowelling Darkan
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 1
Parks & reserves 3 7
Childcare 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 3 22

Mobility

Bowelling sits further from the CBD (242.4 km vs 208.3 km).

Bowelling Darkan
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Perth 242.4 km
+14% vs other
 208.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 168 min 157 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 6225
 0.5%
postcode 6392
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 55
postcode 6225
 43
postcode 6392

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.

Bowelling Darkan
Car (driver) 45.5% / 61.8%
Bowelling — Car (driver): 45.5% Darkan — Car (driver): 61.8%
Worked from Home 54.5% / 24.2%
Bowelling — Worked from Home: 54.5% Darkan — Worked from Home: 24.2%
Walked Only — / 8.5%
Bowelling — Walked Only: not among its largest Darkan — Walked Only: 8.5%
Car (passenger) — / 3.6%
Bowelling — Car (passenger): not among its largest Darkan — Car (passenger): 3.6%
Bus — / 1.8%
Bowelling — Bus: not among its largest Darkan — Bus: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (61.8%).

Setting

Bowelling Darkan
Elevation 261 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 311 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Bowelling Darkan
Connectivity score 15/100
same for both
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
22 premises
 0%
73 premises

Federal electorate

Bowelling Darkan
Division O'connor
same for both
Member Rick Wilson
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Bowelling Darkan
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Bowelling

Rural

Darkan

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Bowelling

Bowelling vs Williams Bowelling vs Cardiff Bowelling vs McAlinden Bowelling vs Duranillin

Other comparisons with Darkan

Darkan vs Williams Darkan vs Arthur River Darkan vs Duranillin
Full data on Bowelling Full data on Darkan
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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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