Melville vs Palmyra

Palmyra is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 42 in Melville. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Melville, about half of households are couple families. In Palmyra, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Melville: a median of $1.53 million, against $1.22 million in Palmyra, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Melville tends to suit couples, while Palmyra suits people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget.

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

Melville

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (78% vs 57%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (63% vs 47%)
  • But Palmyra has more parks and reserves (11 vs 1)

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

First-home buyers

Palmyra

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has cheaper houses ($1,217,500 vs $1,530,000)
  • has cheaper land ($702,775 vs $866,000)
  • has cheaper units ($685,000 vs $832,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Palmyra

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (27% vs 16%)
  • has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $420/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Palmyra

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (72/100 vs 53/100)

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

Downsizers and retirees

Palmyra

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (43% vs 22%)
  • is more walkable (72/100 vs 53/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Melville Palmyra
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.

Melville Palmyra
Walkability 53 / 72
Melville — Walkability: 53/100 Palmyra — Walkability: 72/100
Safety 42 / 34
Melville — Safety: 42/100 Palmyra — Safety: 34/100
Low fire risk 76 / 100
Melville — Low fire risk: 76/100 Palmyra — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Melville — Low flood risk: 100/100 Palmyra — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Melville has higher household incomes ($113,516 vs $89,908); Melville rents higher ($420/wk vs $350/wk).

Melville Palmyra
Population 6,204 7,585
+22% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +8.9% +9.1%
Median age 42 39
Median household income $113,516/yr
+21% vs other
 $89,908/yr
Median weekly rent $420/wk
+17% vs other
 $350/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Melville Palmyra
0-4 5.3% / 6.7%
Melville — 0-4: 5.3% Palmyra — 0-4: 6.7%
5-14 14.0% / 11.7%
Melville — 5-14: 14.0% Palmyra — 5-14: 11.7%
15-19 7.1% / 5.1%
Melville — 15-19: 7.1% Palmyra — 15-19: 5.1%
20-24 5.4% / 4.8%
Melville — 20-24: 5.4% Palmyra — 20-24: 4.8%
25-34 9.8% / 15.5%
Melville — 25-34: 9.8% Palmyra — 25-34: 15.5%
35-44 12.6% / 15.3%
Melville — 35-44: 12.6% Palmyra — 35-44: 15.3%
45-54 15.5% / 13.4%
Melville — 45-54: 15.5% Palmyra — 45-54: 13.4%
55-64 12.7% / 10.9%
Melville — 55-64: 12.7% Palmyra — 55-64: 10.9%
65-74 8.4% / 9.3%
Melville — 65-74: 8.4% Palmyra — 65-74: 9.3%
75-84 5.2% / 5.1%
Melville — 75-84: 5.2% Palmyra — 75-84: 5.1%
85+ 4.0% / 2.4%
Melville — 85+: 4.0% Palmyra — 85+: 2.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Melville 49.8% couple families
Melville — Couple Families: 49.8% Melville — Lone Person: 32.5% Melville — One Parent Families: 13.3% Melville — Group Household: 3.0% Melville — Other Families: 1.4%
Palmyra 32.6% couple families
Palmyra — Couple Families: 32.6% Palmyra — Lone Person: 47.0% Palmyra — One Parent Families: 14.5% Palmyra — Group Household: 4.7% Palmyra — Other Families: 1.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Melville 15.7% renting
Melville — Owned Outright: 39.2% Melville — Mortgage: 45.1% Melville — Renting: 15.7%
Palmyra 27.1% renting
Palmyra — Owned Outright: 29.8% Palmyra — Mortgage: 43.1% Palmyra — Renting: 27.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Melville Palmyra
England 6.9% / 8.5%
Melville — England: 6.9% Palmyra — England: 8.5%
New Zealand 1.7% / 2.3%
Melville — New Zealand: 1.7% Palmyra — New Zealand: 2.3%
Scotland 0.8% / 1.4%
Melville — Scotland: 0.8% Palmyra — Scotland: 1.4%
South Africa 1.0% / 1.0%
Melville — South Africa: 1.0% Palmyra — South Africa: 1.0%
Italy 0.9% / 0.9%
Melville — Italy: 0.9% Palmyra — Italy: 0.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (8.5%).

Qualifications

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

Melville Palmyra
Bachelor Degree 19.0% / 20.3%
Melville — Bachelor Degree: 19.0% Palmyra — Bachelor Degree: 20.3%
Certificate III & IV 11.2% / 12.3%
Melville — Certificate III & IV: 11.2% Palmyra — Certificate III & IV: 12.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.2% / 8.5%
Melville — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2% Palmyra — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5%
Postgraduate Degree 5.6% / 5.2%
Melville — Postgraduate Degree: 5.6% Palmyra — Postgraduate Degree: 5.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.4% / 3.4%
Melville — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.4% Palmyra — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.3%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Melville 78.0% houses
Melville — Houses: 78.0% Melville — Townhouses: 19.0% Melville — Flats / Apartments: 3.0%
Palmyra 57.1% houses
Palmyra — Houses: 57.1% Palmyra — Townhouses: 37.1% Palmyra — Flats / Apartments: 5.8%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Melville Palmyra
Median house price $1,530,000 $1,217,500
Median unit price $832,000 $685,000
Median land price $866,000 $702,775
Typical days to sell (houses) 30 days
from 80 sales
 29 days
from 108 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.

Melville Palmyra
2 bed $1.03M / $855K
Melville — 2 bed: $1.03M (12 sales) Palmyra — 2 bed: $855K (25 sales)

12 vs 25 sales

3 bed $1.32M / $1.15M
Melville — 3 bed: $1.32M (57 sales) Palmyra — 3 bed: $1.15M (103 sales)

57 vs 103 sales

4 bed $1.75M / $1.48M
Melville — 4 bed: $1.75M (64 sales) Palmyra — 4 bed: $1.48M (43 sales)

64 vs 43 sales

Development activity

Melville Palmyra
New dwellings approved 727
across Melville
same for both
Approvals change year on year +268%
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.

Melville Palmyra
Houses 3.8%
$875/wk on $1.2M
 3.9%
$750/wk on $1M
Units — 4.8%
$650/wk on $700K

Ranking within WA

Melville Palmyra
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 80% of WA Higher than 54% of WA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 84% of WA Higher than 91% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 93% of WA Higher than 89% of WA
NBN connectivity Higher than 95% of WA Higher than 81% of WA
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 20% of WA Higher than 23% of WA
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 22% of WA

Liveability

Palmyra is more walkable (72 vs 53).

Melville Palmyra
Grade A
same for both
Score 76/100 78/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Melville carries more bushfire risk (24 vs 0).

Melville Palmyra
Bushfire Low
24/100
 None
0/100
Crime Moderate
58/100
 Moderate
66/100
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 9
within 5 km
 11
within 5 km

Schools

Melville Palmyra
Inside the suburb 2
same for both
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 1
same for both
Rated below peers 0 1
Universities within 10 km 3
The University of Notre Dame Australia - Fremantle, 4.3 km
 3
The University of Notre Dame Australia - Fremantle, 2.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 3.1% 2.0%

Schools in Melville

  • Melville Senior High School Government · Secondary above peers
  • Melville Primary School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Palmyra

  • Palmyra Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Our Lady of Fatima School Catholic · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Melville Palmyra
Supermarkets 1
same for both
Cafes & restaurants 6 12
Parks & reserves 1 11
Childcare 3 4
GPs 2
same for both
Pharmacies 0 2
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 1
same for both

Mobility

Melville Palmyra
Walkability score 53/100 72/100
Distance to Perth 14.9 km 16.5 km
+11% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 21 min 23 min
Public transport score 94/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 173.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 160.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 1.9%
postcode 6156
 1.4%
postcode 6157
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 47
postcode 6156
 37
postcode 6157

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.

Melville Palmyra
Car (driver) 74.4% / 76.4%
Melville — Car (driver): 74.4% Palmyra — Car (driver): 76.4%
Worked from Home 11.3% / 8.6%
Melville — Worked from Home: 11.3% Palmyra — Worked from Home: 8.6%
Bus 4.4% / 4.8%
Melville — Bus: 4.4% Palmyra — Bus: 4.8%
Car (passenger) 4.5% / 4.1%
Melville — Car (passenger): 4.5% Palmyra — Car (passenger): 4.1%
Train 3.5% / 3.3%
Melville — Train: 3.5% Palmyra — Train: 3.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.4%).

Setting

Melville Palmyra
Elevation 47 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 37 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 5.2 km
2.6 km to a named beach
 4.0 km
2.0 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Melville Palmyra
Connectivity score 89/100 68/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 54%
2,757 premises
 38%
4,045 premises

Climate

Melville Palmyra
Annual rainfall 650 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Melville Palmyra
Average residential rate $2,396/yr
same for both
Council Melville
same for both

Federal electorate

Melville Palmyra
Division Tangney
same for both
Member Sam Lim
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Melville Palmyra
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Melville

Easy Commute Middle-Ring Premium Professionals Quiet Transport Hub

Palmyra

Easy Commute Middle-Ring Parks Professionals Townhouses Transport Hub

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Melville

Melville vs Bicton Melville vs Attadale Melville vs Willagee Melville vs Alfred Cove Melville vs Myaree

Other comparisons with Palmyra

Palmyra vs Fremantle Palmyra vs East Fremantle Palmyra vs Bicton Palmyra vs Attadale Palmyra vs Willagee Palmyra vs O'Connor
Full data on Melville Full data on Palmyra
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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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