Fraser vs Spence

Spence is the younger of the two, with a median age of 38 against 41 in Fraser. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Fraser, most households are couple families. In Spence, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Fraser: a median of $1 million, against $889,000 in Spence, and rent is higher there too.

Fraser and Spence are both small ACT suburbs with distinct profiles. Fraser commands higher median household income at $136,136 versus $122,616, and property prices are notably steeper—houses median at $1,024,000 compared to Spence's $888,000. However, Spence offers better walkability (57 versus 47) and sits slightly closer to the CBD at 16.3 km. Crime risk differs markedly, with Fraser at 16 and Spence at 60, making Fraser the safer choice by that measure, though Spence has lower bushfire risk. Fraser may suit buyers prioritising income levels and safety; Spence appeals to those valuing walkability and lower property costs.

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

Fraser

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 61/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (76% vs 65%)

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

First-home buyers

Spence

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper units ($582,000 vs $768,500)
  • has cheaper houses ($889,000 vs $1,000,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Spence

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($375/wk vs $450/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Spence

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (57/100 vs 47/100)

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

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Fraser carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 61/100)
  • Spence is more walkable (57/100 vs 47/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

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

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Fraser Spence
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.

Fraser Spence
Walkability 47 / 57
Fraser — Walkability: 47/100 Spence — Walkability: 57/100
Safety 84 / 39
Fraser — Safety: 84/100 Spence — Safety: 39/100
Low fire risk 55 / 100
Fraser — Low fire risk: 55/100 Spence — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Fraser — Low flood risk: 100/100 Spence — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Fraser rents higher ($450/wk vs $375/wk); Fraser has higher household incomes ($136,136 vs $122,616).

Fraser Spence
Population 2,126 2,587
+22% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +4.9% +0.1%
Median age 41 38
Median household income $136,136/yr
+10% vs other
 $122,616/yr
Median weekly rent $450/wk
+17% vs other
 $375/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Fraser Spence
0-4 4.6% / 6.0%
Fraser — 0-4: 4.6% Spence — 0-4: 6.0%
5-14 15.4% / 14.0%
Fraser — 5-14: 15.4% Spence — 5-14: 14.0%
15-19 6.3% / 6.7%
Fraser — 15-19: 6.3% Spence — 15-19: 6.7%
20-24 5.5% / 5.5%
Fraser — 20-24: 5.5% Spence — 20-24: 5.5%
25-34 9.3% / 11.8%
Fraser — 25-34: 9.3% Spence — 25-34: 11.8%
35-44 14.6% / 15.6%
Fraser — 35-44: 14.6% Spence — 35-44: 15.6%
45-54 13.6% / 13.3%
Fraser — 45-54: 13.6% Spence — 45-54: 13.3%
55-64 11.4% / 9.7%
Fraser — 55-64: 11.4% Spence — 55-64: 9.7%
65-74 14.3% / 11.6%
Fraser — 65-74: 14.3% Spence — 65-74: 11.6%
75-84 4.7% / 5.1%
Fraser — 75-84: 4.7% Spence — 75-84: 5.1%
85+ 0.8% / 1.0%
Fraser — 85+: 0.8% Spence — 85+: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Fraser 58.5% couple families
Fraser — Couple Families: 58.5% Fraser — Lone Person: 21.1% Fraser — One Parent Families: 17.6% Fraser — Group Household: 2.2% Fraser — Other Families: 0.6%
Spence 49.2% couple families
Spence — Couple Families: 49.2% Spence — Lone Person: 29.1% Spence — One Parent Families: 15.8% Spence — Group Household: 3.9% Spence — Other Families: 2.1%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Fraser 10.5% renting
Fraser — Owned Outright: 41.0% Fraser — Mortgage: 48.6% Fraser — Renting: 10.5%
Spence 20.3% renting
Spence — Owned Outright: 33.5% Spence — Mortgage: 46.2% Spence — Renting: 20.3%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Fraser Spence
Bachelor Degree 17.1% / 15.0%
Fraser — Bachelor Degree: 17.1% Spence — Bachelor Degree: 15.0%
Certificate III & IV 11.1% / 12.7%
Fraser — Certificate III & IV: 11.1% Spence — Certificate III & IV: 12.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.3% / 8.5%
Fraser — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.3% Spence — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5%
Postgraduate Degree 5.7% / 6.2%
Fraser — Postgraduate Degree: 5.7% Spence — Postgraduate Degree: 6.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.7% / 3.9%
Fraser — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.7% Spence — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.1%).

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.

Fraser Spence
England 4.0% / 2.9%
Fraser — England: 4.0% Spence — England: 2.9%
Germany 0.8% / 0.9%
Fraser — Germany: 0.8% Spence — Germany: 0.9%
Scotland 1.0% / 0.6%
Fraser — Scotland: 1.0% Spence — Scotland: 0.6%
China 0.7% / 0.9%
Fraser — China: 0.7% Spence — China: 0.9%
New Zealand 0.9% / 0.5%
Fraser — New Zealand: 0.9% Spence — New Zealand: 0.5%
India 0.5% / 0.5%
Fraser — India: 0.5% Spence — India: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Fraser 95.9% houses
Fraser — Houses: 95.9% Fraser — Townhouses: 3.7% Fraser — Flats / Apartments: 0.4%
Spence 92.9% houses
Spence — Houses: 92.9% Spence — Townhouses: 7.6% Spence — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Fraser Spence
Median house price $1,000,000 $889,000
Median unit price $768,500 $582,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 25 days
from 41 sales
 19 days
from 47 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.

Fraser Spence
3 bed $938K / $836K
Fraser — 3 bed: $938K (14 sales) Spence — 3 bed: $836K (32 sales)

14 vs 32 sales

4 bed $1M / $972K
Fraser — 4 bed: $1M (33 sales) Spence — 4 bed: $972K (32 sales)

33 vs 32 sales

5 bed $1.17M / $1.07M
Fraser — 5 bed: $1.17M (8 sales) Spence — 5 bed: $1.07M (6 sales)

8 vs 6 sales

Development activity

Fraser Spence
New dwellings approved 3,750
across Unincorporated ACT
same for both
Approvals change year on year -48%
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.

Fraser Spence
Houses — 5.1%
$840/wk on $850K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within ACT

Fraser Spence
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 70% of ACT Higher than 49% of ACT
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 30% of ACT Higher than 40% of ACT
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 11% of ACT Higher than 21% of ACT
NBN connectivity Higher than 19% of ACT Higher than 17% of ACT
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 88% of ACT

Liveability

Spence is more walkable (57 vs 47).

Fraser Spence
Grade C
same for both
Score 48/100
same for both
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Fraser carries more bushfire risk (45 vs 0); Spence carries more crime risk (61 vs 16).

Fraser Spence
Bushfire Moderate
45/100
 None
0/100
Crime Low
16/100
 Moderate
61/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Fraser Spence
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 1 0
Universities within 10 km 1
UC - Canberra, Bruce, 7.3 km
 2
UC - Canberra, Bruce, 5.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.2% 1.5%

Schools in Fraser

  • Fraser Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Spence

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

Amenities in the suburb

Fraser Spence
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 2 1
Childcare 2 3
Pharmacies 0 1

Mobility

Fraser Spence
Walkability score 47/100 57/100
Distance to Canberra 17.9 km
+9% vs other
 16.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 24 min 23 min
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 77.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
 103.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 2.1%
postcode 2615
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 40
postcode 2615
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.

Fraser Spence
Car (driver) 76.2% / 75.3%
Fraser — Car (driver): 76.2% Spence — Car (driver): 75.3%
Worked from Home 14.7% / 13.3%
Fraser — Worked from Home: 14.7% Spence — Worked from Home: 13.3%
Car (passenger) 5.4% / 5.4%
Fraser — Car (passenger): 5.4% Spence — Car (passenger): 5.4%
Bus 2.1% / 4.3%
Fraser — Bus: 2.1% Spence — Bus: 4.3%
Bicycle 0.9% / 1.0%
Fraser — Bicycle: 0.9% Spence — Bicycle: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.2%).

Setting

Fraser Spence
Elevation 612 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 637 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Fraser Spence
Connectivity score 46/100 45/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 1%
813 premises
 0%
1,057 premises

Climate

Fraser Spence
Annual rainfall 622 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 28.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 0.8°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Fraser Spence
PM2.5 6.6 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 11.0 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.41 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Fraser Spence
Average residential rate $3,105/yr
same for both
Council Unincorporated ACT
same for both

Federal electorate

Fraser Spence
Division Fenner
same for both
Member Andrew Leigh
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Fraser Spence
Grant amount Not offered
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility None
same for both

Tags

Fraser

Large Blocks Middle-Ring Quiet

Spence

Affordable Large Blocks Middle-Ring Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Fraser

Fraser vs Belconnen Fraser vs Dunlop Fraser vs Flynn Fraser vs Melba Fraser vs Charnwood

Other comparisons with Spence

Spence vs Belconnen Spence vs Evatt Spence vs Melba
Full data on Fraser Full data on Spence
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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