Esperance vs West Beach

West Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 52 in Esperance. In both, most homes are detached houses. In Esperance, about half of households rent and most households are people living alone. In West Beach, the large majority of households own their home and about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in West Beach: a median of $660,000, against $605,000 in Esperance, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Esperance tends to suit renters, people living alone, and older residents, while West Beach 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

West Beach

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 88/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (60% vs 31%)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (95% vs 63%)
  • But Esperance has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

West Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 32%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Esperance

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (49% vs 24%)
  • has cheaper rent ($235/wk vs $350/wk)
  • But West Beach leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 22%)

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

Commuting to the city

Esperance

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (78/100 vs 0/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (479 min vs 484 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (697.3 km vs 699.5 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Esperance

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (78/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (37% vs 5%)
  • has more GPs (5 vs 0)
  • But West Beach carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 88/100)

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

Investors

Esperance

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.7% vs 3.0%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Esperance West Beach
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.

Esperance West Beach
Walkability 78 / 0
Esperance — Walkability: 78/100 West Beach — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 12 / 83
Esperance — Safety: 12/100 West Beach — Safety: 83/100
Low fire risk 41 / 29
Esperance — Low fire risk: 41/100 West Beach — Low fire risk: 29/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Esperance — Low flood risk: 100/100 West Beach — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

West Beach has higher household incomes ($109,460 vs $56,524); West Beach rents higher ($350/wk vs $235/wk).

Esperance West Beach
Population 2,080
+29% vs other
 1,483
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -3.0% -0.3%
Median age 52 44
Median household income $56,524/yr $109,460/yr
+94% vs other
Median weekly rent $235/wk $350/wk
+49% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Esperance West Beach
0-4 3.8% / 5.8%
Esperance — 0-4: 3.8% West Beach — 0-4: 5.8%
5-14 9.6% / 13.1%
Esperance — 5-14: 9.6% West Beach — 5-14: 13.1%
15-19 4.5% / 5.9%
Esperance — 15-19: 4.5% West Beach — 15-19: 5.9%
20-24 4.1% / 4.2%
Esperance — 20-24: 4.1% West Beach — 20-24: 4.2%
25-34 12.0% / 11.5%
Esperance — 25-34: 12.0% West Beach — 25-34: 11.5%
35-44 9.5% / 10.5%
Esperance — 35-44: 9.5% West Beach — 35-44: 10.5%
45-54 9.8% / 14.6%
Esperance — 45-54: 9.8% West Beach — 45-54: 14.6%
55-64 14.8% / 14.6%
Esperance — 55-64: 14.8% West Beach — 55-64: 14.6%
65-74 11.9% / 12.1%
Esperance — 65-74: 11.9% West Beach — 65-74: 12.1%
75-84 12.7% / 6.9%
Esperance — 75-84: 12.7% West Beach — 75-84: 6.9%
85+ 7.4% / 1.1%
Esperance — 85+: 7.4% West Beach — 85+: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (14.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Esperance 63.8% lone person
Esperance — Lone Person: 63.8% Esperance — Couple Families: 19.7% Esperance — One Parent Families: 11.2% Esperance — Group Household: 4.0% Esperance — Other Families: 1.3%
West Beach 31.8% lone person
West Beach — Lone Person: 31.8% West Beach — Couple Families: 50.0% West Beach — One Parent Families: 10.1% West Beach — Group Household: 7.0% West Beach — Other Families: 1.1%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Esperance 49.2% renting
Esperance — Owned Outright: 33.3% Esperance — Mortgage: 17.5% Esperance — Renting: 49.2%
West Beach 23.7% renting
West Beach — Owned Outright: 41.9% West Beach — Mortgage: 34.4% West Beach — Renting: 23.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Esperance West Beach
Certificate III & IV 15.4% / 14.4%
Esperance — Certificate III & IV: 15.4% West Beach — Certificate III & IV: 14.4%
Bachelor Degree 7.5% / 14.0%
Esperance — Bachelor Degree: 7.5% West Beach — Bachelor Degree: 14.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.7% / 7.8%
Esperance — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.7% West Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.5% / 2.9%
Esperance — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5% West Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.9%
Postgraduate Degree 1.2% / 2.4%
Esperance — Postgraduate Degree: 1.2% West Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.4%).

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.

Esperance West Beach
England 5.0% / 4.1%
Esperance — England: 5.0% West Beach — England: 4.1%
New Zealand 3.4% / 2.2%
Esperance — New Zealand: 3.4% West Beach — New Zealand: 2.2%
South Africa 1.6% / 1.3%
Esperance — South Africa: 1.6% West Beach — South Africa: 1.3%
Philippines 0.8% / 0.7%
Esperance — Philippines: 0.8% West Beach — Philippines: 0.7%
Germany 0.9% / 0.5%
Esperance — Germany: 0.9% West Beach — Germany: 0.5%
India — / 0.5%
Esperance — India: not among its largest West Beach — India: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Esperance 62.9% houses
Esperance — Houses: 62.9% Esperance — Townhouses: 27.7% Esperance — Flats / Apartments: 9.5%
West Beach 95.0% houses
West Beach — Houses: 95.0% West Beach — Townhouses: 2.6% West Beach — Flats / Apartments: 2.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Esperance West Beach
Median house price $605,000 $660,000
Median unit price $371,000 —
Median land price $258,500 $277,500
Typical days to sell (houses) 39 days
from 17 sales
 50 days
from 10 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.

Esperance West Beach
3 bed $536K / $635K
Esperance — 3 bed: $536K (31 sales) West Beach — 3 bed: $635K (17 sales)

31 vs 17 sales

4 bed $762K / $735K
Esperance — 4 bed: $762K (8 sales) West Beach — 4 bed: $735K (19 sales)

8 vs 19 sales

Development activity

Esperance West Beach
New dwellings approved 55
across Esperance
same for both
Approvals change year on year -11%
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.

Esperance West Beach
Houses 4.7%
$575/wk on $630K
 3.0%
$700/wk on $1.2M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within WA

Esperance West Beach
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 13% of WA Higher than 75% of WA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 94% of WA Higher than 23% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 7% of WA Higher than 6% of WA
NBN connectivity Higher than 68% of WA Higher than 70% of WA
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 73% of WA Higher than 8% of WA

Liveability

Esperance is more walkable (78 vs 0); West Beach scores higher overall (49 vs 31).

Esperance West Beach
Grade C B
Score 31/100 49/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Esperance carries more crime risk (88 vs 17); West Beach carries more bushfire risk (71 vs 59).

Esperance West Beach
Bushfire Moderate
59/100
 High
71/100
Crime High
88/100
 Low
17/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
Coastal erosion Low
30/100
 Low
38/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 7
within 5 km
 2
within 5 km

Schools

Esperance West Beach
Inside the suburb 1 2
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Esperance

  • Esperance Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Schools in West Beach

  • Esperance Anglican Community School Independent · Secondary at peers
  • Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Esperance West Beach
Supermarkets 2 0
Cafes & restaurants 12 1
Parks & reserves 8
same for both
Childcare 1 0
GPs 5 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 5 0
Fuel stations 2 0
EV chargers 4 0
Beaches 0 1

Mobility

West Beach sits further from the CBD (699.5 km vs 697.3 km).

Esperance West Beach
Walkability score 78/100 0/100
Distance to Perth 697.3 km 699.5 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 479 min 484 min
Public transport score 30/100
Bus
 19/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 0.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 0.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 300 min
scheduled, not actual
 —
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 6450
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 22
postcode 6450
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.

Esperance West Beach
Car (driver) 77.7% / 82.3%
Esperance — Car (driver): 77.7% West Beach — Car (driver): 82.3%
Worked from Home 6.3% / 7.5%
Esperance — Worked from Home: 6.3% West Beach — Worked from Home: 7.5%
Walked Only 8.4% / 3.1%
Esperance — Walked Only: 8.4% West Beach — Walked Only: 3.1%
Car (passenger) 5.0% / 5.1%
Esperance — Car (passenger): 5.0% West Beach — Car (passenger): 5.1%
Bicycle 2.6% / 1.5%
Esperance — Bicycle: 2.6% West Beach — Bicycle: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.3%).

Setting

Esperance West Beach
Elevation 13 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 38 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 462 m
511 m to a named beach
 1.1 km
1.5 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Esperance West Beach
Connectivity score 45/100 50/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 1%
1,741 premises
 9%
759 premises

Climate

Esperance West Beach
Annual rainfall 606 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.8°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 9.0°C
same for both

Council rates

Esperance West Beach
Average residential rate $4,175/yr
same for both
Council Esperance
same for both

Federal electorate

Esperance West Beach
Division O'connor
same for both
Member Rick Wilson
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Esperance West Beach
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Esperance

Affordable Beach Coastal Parks Retirees Townhouses Village Feel

West Beach

Acreage Affordable Beach Coastal

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Esperance

Esperance vs Nulsen Esperance vs Sinclair Esperance vs Chadwick

Other comparisons with West Beach

West Beach vs Pink Lake West Beach vs Sinclair West Beach vs Dalyup
Full data on Esperance Full data on West Beach
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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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