Cowalla vs Wanerie

Cowalla is the younger of the two, with a median age of 52 against 58 in Wanerie. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Cowalla, most households are people living alone. In Wanerie, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Cowalla tends to suit people living alone, while Wanerie suits 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

  • Cowalla has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 86%)
  • Wanerie is already more of a family suburb (55% vs 43%)

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

First-home buyers

Cowalla

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (26% vs 39%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Cowalla

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 27%)
  • has cheaper rent ($225/wk vs $265/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Wanerie

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (96.1 km vs 109.3 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (72 min vs 81 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Wanerie

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (36% vs 24%)

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

Investors

Cowalla

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (12.5% vs 6.2%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Cowalla Wanerie
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.

Cowalla Wanerie
Walkability 0 / 0
Cowalla — Walkability: 0/100 Wanerie — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 77 / 71
Cowalla — Safety: 77/100 Wanerie — Safety: 71/100
Low fire risk 36 / 42
Cowalla — Low fire risk: 36/100 Wanerie — Low fire risk: 42/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Cowalla — Low flood risk: 100/100 Wanerie — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Wanerie has more residents (137 vs 54); Cowalla has higher household incomes ($84,500 vs $51,064).

Cowalla Wanerie
Population 54 137
+154% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +12.5% +6.2%
Median age 52 58
Median household income $84,500/yr
+40% vs other
 $51,064/yr
Median weekly rent $225/wk $265/wk
+18% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cowalla Wanerie
0-4 5.6% / 3.6%
Cowalla — 0-4: 5.6% Wanerie — 0-4: 3.6%
5-14 — / 10.2%
Cowalla — 5-14: not among its largest Wanerie — 5-14: 10.2%
15-19 — / 2.2%
Cowalla — 15-19: not among its largest Wanerie — 15-19: 2.2%
20-24 9.3% / 2.9%
Cowalla — 20-24: 9.3% Wanerie — 20-24: 2.9%
25-34 5.6% / —
Cowalla — 25-34: 5.6% Wanerie — 25-34: not among its largest
35-44 13.0% / 7.3%
Cowalla — 35-44: 13.0% Wanerie — 35-44: 7.3%
45-54 24.1% / 13.9%
Cowalla — 45-54: 24.1% Wanerie — 45-54: 13.9%
55-64 18.5% / 23.4%
Cowalla — 55-64: 18.5% Wanerie — 55-64: 23.4%
65-74 24.1% / 27.0%
Cowalla — 65-74: 24.1% Wanerie — 65-74: 27.0%
75-84 — / 6.6%
Cowalla — 75-84: not among its largest Wanerie — 75-84: 6.6%
85+ — / 2.9%
Cowalla — 85+: not among its largest Wanerie — 85+: 2.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cowalla 57.1% lone person
Cowalla — Lone Person: 57.1% Cowalla — Couple Families: 42.9% Cowalla — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Wanerie 45.0% lone person
Wanerie — Lone Person: 45.0% Wanerie — Couple Families: 40.0% Wanerie — One Parent Families: 15.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cowalla 18.8% renting
Cowalla — Owned Outright: 50.0% Cowalla — Mortgage: 31.2% Cowalla — Renting: 18.8%
Wanerie 10.6% renting
Wanerie — Owned Outright: 51.1% Wanerie — Mortgage: 38.3% Wanerie — Renting: 10.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Cowalla Wanerie
Certificate III & IV 35.2% / 14.6%
Cowalla — Certificate III & IV: 35.2% Wanerie — Certificate III & IV: 14.6%
Bachelor Degree 13.0% / 2.9%
Cowalla — Bachelor Degree: 13.0% Wanerie — Bachelor Degree: 2.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.6% / 7.3%
Cowalla — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.6% Wanerie — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (35.2%).

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.

Cowalla Wanerie
England 9.3% / 7.3%
Cowalla — England: 9.3% Wanerie — England: 7.3%
South Africa 7.4% / 4.4%
Cowalla — South Africa: 7.4% Wanerie — South Africa: 4.4%
New Zealand — / 5.1%
Cowalla — New Zealand: not among its largest Wanerie — New Zealand: 5.1%
Vietnam — / 2.9%
Cowalla — Vietnam: not among its largest Wanerie — Vietnam: 2.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (9.3%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cowalla 100.0% houses
Cowalla — Houses: 100.0% Cowalla — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Wanerie 85.7% houses
Wanerie — Houses: 85.7% Wanerie — Flats / Apartments: 14.3%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Cowalla Wanerie
Median house price — $990,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Development activity

Cowalla Wanerie
New dwellings approved 128
across Gingin
same for both
Approvals change year on year -18%
same for both

Ranking within WA

Cowalla Wanerie
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 48% of WA Higher than 10% of WA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 20% of WA Higher than 60% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 58% of WA Higher than 59% of WA
NBN connectivity Higher than 38% of WA Higher than 34% of WA

Liveability

Cowalla Wanerie
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
same for both

Risk profile

Cowalla Wanerie
Bushfire Moderate
64/100
 Moderate
58/100
Crime Low
23/100
 Low
29/100
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

Cowalla Wanerie
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

Cowalla Wanerie
Parks & reserves 2 0
Waterways 1 5

Mobility

Cowalla sits further from the CBD (109.3 km vs 96.1 km).

Cowalla Wanerie
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Perth 109.3 km
+12% vs other
 96.1 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 81 min 72 min
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 6503
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 78
postcode 6503
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.

Cowalla Wanerie
Car (driver) 46.4% / 51.0%
Cowalla — Car (driver): 46.4% Wanerie — Car (driver): 51.0%
Worked from Home 25.0% / 40.8%
Cowalla — Worked from Home: 25.0% Wanerie — Worked from Home: 40.8%
Walked Only 28.6% / 8.2%
Cowalla — Walked Only: 28.6% Wanerie — Walked Only: 8.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (51.0%).

Setting

Cowalla Wanerie
Elevation 58 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 81 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 17.4 km 16.1 km

NBN connectivity

Cowalla Wanerie
Connectivity score 16/100 15/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
22 premises
 0%
38 premises

Council rates

Cowalla Wanerie
Average residential rate $2,630/yr
same for both
Council Gingin
same for both

Federal electorate

Cowalla Wanerie
Division Durack
same for both
Member Melissa Price
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cowalla Wanerie
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Cowalla

Rural

Wanerie

Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cowalla

Cowalla vs Karakin

Other comparisons with Wanerie

Wanerie vs Neergabby Wanerie vs Beermullah
Full data on Cowalla Full data on Wanerie
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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