Gawler vs Willaston

Willaston is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 57 in Gawler. In both, most households own their home. In Gawler, most households are people living alone. In Willaston, the large majority of homes are detached houses. On these figures, Gawler tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Willaston suits families with children.

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

Willaston

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (86% vs 52%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (51% vs 31%)
  • carries lower crime risk (68/100 vs 98/100)
  • But Gawler 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

They split

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

  • Gawler has cheaper units ($500,000 vs $552,250)
  • Willaston leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 30%)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Gawler

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (36% vs 25%)
  • has cheaper rent ($240/wk vs $300/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Gawler

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (89/100 vs 56/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Gawler

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (3 vs 0)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (48% vs 14%)
  • is more walkable (89/100 vs 56/100)
  • But Willaston carries lower crime risk (68/100 vs 98/100)

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

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

Gawler Willaston
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.

Gawler Willaston
Walkability 89 / 56
Gawler — Walkability: 89/100 Willaston — Walkability: 56/100
Safety 2 / 32
Gawler — Safety: 2/100 Willaston — Safety: 32/100
Low fire risk 76 / 82
Gawler — Low fire risk: 76/100 Willaston — Low fire risk: 82/100
Low flood risk 7 / 15
Gawler — Low flood risk: 7/100 Willaston — Low flood risk: 15/100

Demographics

Willaston has more residents (3,458 vs 668); Gawler skews older (57 vs 42).

Gawler Willaston
Population 668 3,458
+418% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +2.8% +2.2%
Median age 57 42
Median household income $48,672/yr $65,208/yr
+34% vs other
Median weekly rent $240/wk $300/wk
+25% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Gawler Willaston
0-4 2.1% / 5.0%
Gawler — 0-4: 2.1% Willaston — 0-4: 5.0%
5-14 6.9% / 13.5%
Gawler — 5-14: 6.9% Willaston — 5-14: 13.5%
15-19 4.9% / 5.5%
Gawler — 15-19: 4.9% Willaston — 15-19: 5.5%
20-24 3.9% / 5.1%
Gawler — 20-24: 3.9% Willaston — 20-24: 5.1%
25-34 7.2% / 11.9%
Gawler — 25-34: 7.2% Willaston — 25-34: 11.9%
35-44 8.4% / 11.4%
Gawler — 35-44: 8.4% Willaston — 35-44: 11.4%
45-54 12.6% / 11.8%
Gawler — 45-54: 12.6% Willaston — 45-54: 11.8%
55-64 19.0% / 13.9%
Gawler — 55-64: 19.0% Willaston — 55-64: 13.9%
65-74 17.1% / 11.7%
Gawler — 65-74: 17.1% Willaston — 65-74: 11.7%
75-84 12.3% / 7.1%
Gawler — 75-84: 12.3% Willaston — 75-84: 7.1%
85+ 5.2% / 3.2%
Gawler — 85+: 5.2% Willaston — 85+: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Gawler 66.5% lone person
Gawler — Lone Person: 66.5% Gawler — Couple Families: 17.8% Gawler — One Parent Families: 13.6% Gawler — Group Household: 2.1% Gawler — Other Families: 0.0%
Willaston 43.1% lone person
Willaston — Lone Person: 43.1% Willaston — Couple Families: 29.1% Willaston — One Parent Families: 21.9% Willaston — Group Household: 4.6% Willaston — Other Families: 1.3%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Gawler 35.7% renting
Gawler — Owned Outright: 36.1% Gawler — Mortgage: 28.2% Gawler — Renting: 35.7%
Willaston 24.8% renting
Willaston — Owned Outright: 34.0% Willaston — Mortgage: 41.2% Willaston — Renting: 24.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Gawler Willaston
Certificate III & IV 16.2% / 20.2%
Gawler — Certificate III & IV: 16.2% Willaston — Certificate III & IV: 20.2%
Bachelor Degree 11.5% / 6.9%
Gawler — Bachelor Degree: 11.5% Willaston — Bachelor Degree: 6.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.6% / 6.7%
Gawler — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6% Willaston — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7%
Postgraduate Degree 4.2% / 1.7%
Gawler — Postgraduate Degree: 4.2% Willaston — Postgraduate Degree: 1.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.2% / 0.9%
Gawler — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2% Willaston — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9%

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.

Gawler Willaston
England 15.0% / 7.8%
Gawler — England: 15.0% Willaston — England: 7.8%
New Zealand 1.9% / 0.7%
Gawler — New Zealand: 1.9% Willaston — New Zealand: 0.7%
Scotland 1.0% / 1.0%
Gawler — Scotland: 1.0% Willaston — Scotland: 1.0%
Netherlands 1.3% / 0.5%
Gawler — Netherlands: 1.3% Willaston — Netherlands: 0.5%
Germany 0.7% / 0.6%
Gawler — Germany: 0.7% Willaston — Germany: 0.6%
Italy 0.7% / 0.3%
Gawler — Italy: 0.7% Willaston — Italy: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Gawler 52.3% houses
Gawler — Houses: 52.3% Gawler — Townhouses: 33.9% Gawler — Flats / Apartments: 13.7%
Willaston 85.7% houses
Willaston — Houses: 85.7% Willaston — Townhouses: 13.5% Willaston — Flats / Apartments: 0.7%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Gawler Willaston
Median house price $708,500 $708,000
Median unit price $500,000 $552,250
Median land price — $881,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 23 days
from 9 sales
 18 days
from 28 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.

Gawler Willaston
2 bed $638K / $656K
Gawler — 2 bed: $638K (6 sales) Willaston — 2 bed: $656K (5 sales)

6 vs 5 sales

3 bed $719K / $700K
Gawler — 3 bed: $719K (10 sales) Willaston — 3 bed: $700K (49 sales)

10 vs 49 sales

Zoning mix

Gawler has more commercially zoned land (29% vs 2%); Willaston has more industrially zoned land (11% vs 0%).

Gawler Willaston
Residential 34% 62%
Parks and recreation 37% 16%
Commercial 29% 2%
Industrial 0% 11%
Infrastructure and transport 0% 9%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09.

Development activity

Gawler Willaston
New dwellings approved 324
across Gawler
same for both
Approvals change year on year -22%
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.

Gawler Willaston
Houses — 4.2%
$585/wk on $720K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within SA

Gawler Willaston
House price Higher than 15% of SA Higher than 11% of SA
Income Higher than 14% of SA Higher than 33% of SA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 98% of SA Higher than 82% of SA
Affordability Higher than 26% of SA Higher than 70% of SA
EV adoption Higher than 57% of SA Higher than 56% of SA
NBN connectivity Higher than 81% of SA Higher than 79% of SA
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 74% of SA

Liveability

Gawler is more walkable (89 vs 56); Gawler scores higher overall (31 vs 23).

Gawler Willaston
Grade D
same for both
Score 31/100 23/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
same for both

Risk profile

Gawler carries more crime risk (98 vs 68).

Gawler Willaston
Bushfire Low
24/100
 Low
18/100
Crime High
98/100
 Moderate
68/100
Flood High
93/100
 High
85/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
 2
within 5 km

Schools

Gawler Willaston
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Gawler

  • Gawler Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Schools in Willaston

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

Amenities in the suburb

Gawler Willaston
Supermarkets 3 0
Cafes & restaurants 14 0
Parks & reserves 2
same for both
Childcare 1
same for both
GPs 3 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 7 1
Fuel stations 2 1
EV chargers 1 0
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Gawler Willaston
Walkability score 89/100 56/100
Distance to Adelaide 53.8 km
+4% vs other
 51.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 44 min 40 min
Public transport score 93/100
Rail · Bus
 51/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 35.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 23.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 5118
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 76
postcode 5118
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.

Gawler Willaston
Car (driver) 78.1% / 86.5%
Gawler — Car (driver): 78.1% Willaston — Car (driver): 86.5%
Worked from Home 11.8% / 6.3%
Gawler — Worked from Home: 11.8% Willaston — Worked from Home: 6.3%
Car (passenger) 3.9% / 4.3%
Gawler — Car (passenger): 3.9% Willaston — Car (passenger): 4.3%
Bus 4.4% / 1.6%
Gawler — Bus: 4.4% Willaston — Bus: 1.6%
Walked Only 1.8% / 1.4%
Gawler — Walked Only: 1.8% Willaston — Walked Only: 1.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (86.5%).

Setting

Gawler Willaston
Elevation 61 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 63 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 24.9 km 25.4 km

NBN connectivity

Gawler Willaston
Connectivity score 67/100 65/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 41%
703 premises
 37%
1,764 premises

Climate

Gawler Willaston
Annual rainfall 404 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 30.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 6.6°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Gawler Willaston
PM2.5 5.5 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 18.7 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.31 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Gawler Willaston
Average residential rate $2,258/yr
same for both
Council Gawler
same for both

Federal electorate

Gawler Willaston
Division Spence
same for both
Member Matt Burnell
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Gawler Willaston
Grant amount $15,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Gawler

Easy Commute Outer Retirees Townhouses Trains Transport Hub Village Feel

Willaston

Large Blocks Outer Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Gawler

Gawler vs Gawler East Gawler vs Gawler South

Other comparisons with Willaston

Willaston vs Gawler East Willaston vs Hewett Willaston vs Gawler South Willaston vs Gawler Belt Willaston vs Gawler West Willaston vs Reid
Full data on Gawler Full data on Willaston
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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or