North Beach vs Wallaroo Plain

Wallaroo Plain is the younger of the two, with a median age of 45 against 54 in North Beach. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In North Beach, about half of households are people living alone. In Wallaroo Plain, the large majority of households are couple families. On these figures, North Beach tends to suit older residents, while Wallaroo Plain suits 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • North Beach carries lower crime risk (42/100 vs 94/100)
  • Wallaroo Plain is already more of a family suburb (100% vs 46%)

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

First-home buyers

North Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (31% vs 44%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Wallaroo Plain

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (10% vs 27%)
  • has cheaper rent ($110/wk vs $280/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

North Beach

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (30% vs 8%)
  • carries lower crime risk (42/100 vs 94/100)

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

Investors

North Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (33.3% vs 2.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
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.

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Walkability 4 / 0
North Beach — Walkability: 4/100 Wallaroo Plain — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 58 / 6
North Beach — Safety: 58/100 Wallaroo Plain — Safety: 6/100
Low fire risk 100 / 82
North Beach — Low fire risk: 100/100 Wallaroo Plain — Low fire risk: 82/100

Demographics

North Beach has more residents (676 vs 51); North Beach rents higher ($280/wk vs $110/wk).

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Population 676
+92% vs other
 51
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +33.3% +2.0%
Median age 54 45
Median household income $53,924/yr $58,500/yr
+8% vs other
Median weekly rent $280/wk
+61% vs other
 $110/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
0-4 4.7% / —
North Beach — 0-4: 4.7% Wallaroo Plain — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 8.4% / 9.8%
North Beach — 5-14: 8.4% Wallaroo Plain — 5-14: 9.8%
15-19 3.0% / 7.8%
North Beach — 15-19: 3.0% Wallaroo Plain — 15-19: 7.8%
20-24 3.3% / 15.7%
North Beach — 20-24: 3.3% Wallaroo Plain — 20-24: 15.7%
25-34 7.5% / 7.8%
North Beach — 25-34: 7.5% Wallaroo Plain — 25-34: 7.8%
35-44 12.3% / 9.8%
North Beach — 35-44: 12.3% Wallaroo Plain — 35-44: 9.8%
45-54 10.9% / 33.3%
North Beach — 45-54: 10.9% Wallaroo Plain — 45-54: 33.3%
55-64 19.1% / 19.6%
North Beach — 55-64: 19.1% Wallaroo Plain — 55-64: 19.6%
65-74 17.9% / 7.8%
North Beach — 65-74: 17.9% Wallaroo Plain — 65-74: 7.8%
75-84 9.9% / —
North Beach — 75-84: 9.9% Wallaroo Plain — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ 2.4% / —
North Beach — 85+: 2.4% Wallaroo Plain — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (33.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

North Beach 26.1% couple families
North Beach — Couple Families: 26.1% North Beach — Lone Person: 46.1% North Beach — One Parent Families: 19.4% North Beach — Other Families: 4.4% North Beach — Group Household: 3.9%
Wallaroo Plain 100.0% couple families
Wallaroo Plain — Couple Families: 100.0% Wallaroo Plain — Lone Person: 0.0% Wallaroo Plain — One Parent Families: 0.0% Wallaroo Plain — Other Families: 0.0% Wallaroo Plain — Group Household: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Other Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

North Beach 25.6% renting
North Beach — Owned Outright: 47.4% North Beach — Mortgage: 27.0% North Beach — Renting: 25.6%
Wallaroo Plain 26.7% renting
Wallaroo Plain — Owned Outright: 40.0% Wallaroo Plain — Mortgage: 33.3% Wallaroo Plain — Renting: 26.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

North Beach 94.0% houses
North Beach — Houses: 94.0% North Beach — Townhouses: 4.6% North Beach — Flats / Apartments: 1.4%
Wallaroo Plain 100.0% houses
Wallaroo Plain — Houses: 100.0% Wallaroo Plain — Townhouses: 0.0% Wallaroo Plain — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Certificate III & IV 17.9% / 25.5%
North Beach — Certificate III & IV: 17.9% Wallaroo Plain — Certificate III & IV: 25.5%
Bachelor Degree 8.3% / 15.7%
North Beach — Bachelor Degree: 8.3% Wallaroo Plain — Bachelor Degree: 15.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.8% / 5.9%
North Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.8% Wallaroo Plain — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.2% / —
North Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2% Wallaroo Plain — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest
Postgraduate Degree 1.0% / —
North Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 1.0% Wallaroo Plain — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.5%).

Property market

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Median house price $705,000 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $195,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 63 days
from 13 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Wallaroo Plain has more rural and farming land (98% vs 1%); North Beach has more land zoned for conservation (37% vs 2%).

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Rural and farming 1% 98%
Residential 55% 0%
Environmental 37% 2%
Parks and recreation 7% 0%
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

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
New dwellings approved 232
across Copper Coast
same for both
Approvals change year on year +142%
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.

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Houses 2.9%
$465/wk on $825K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within SA

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 19% of SA Higher than 24% of SA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 59% of SA Higher than 20% of SA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 14% of SA Higher than 13% of SA
NBN connectivity Higher than 74% of SA Higher than 39% of SA
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 13% of SA —

Liveability

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Grade C —
Score 44/100 —
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 3/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Wallaroo Plain carries more bushfire risk (18 vs 0); Wallaroo Plain carries more crime risk (94 vs 42).

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
18/100
Crime Moderate
42/100
 High
94/100
Flood —
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
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

Mobility

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Walkability score 4/100 0/100
Distance to Adelaide 163.9 km 164.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 122 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 5556
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 69
postcode 5556
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.

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Car (driver) 82.9% / 80.8%
North Beach — Car (driver): 82.9% Wallaroo Plain — Car (driver): 80.8%
Worked from Home 7.6% / 19.2%
North Beach — Worked from Home: 7.6% Wallaroo Plain — Worked from Home: 19.2%
Car (passenger) 5.2% / —
North Beach — Car (passenger): 5.2% Wallaroo Plain — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Bus 2.8% / —
North Beach — Bus: 2.8% Wallaroo Plain — Bus: not among its largest
Walked Only 1.4% / —
North Beach — Walked Only: 1.4% Wallaroo Plain — Walked Only: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.9%).

Setting

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Elevation 11 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 42 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 292 m
793 m to a named beach
 5.5 km

NBN connectivity

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Connectivity score 47/100 27/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 4%
648 premises
 0%
40 premises

Council rates

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Average residential rate $1,817/yr
same for both
Council Copper Coast
same for both

Federal electorate

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Division Grey
same for both
Member Tom Venning
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

North Beach Wallaroo Plain
Grant amount $15,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

North Beach

Acreage Beach Coastal Retirees

Wallaroo Plain

Professionals Rural Students

More comparisons

Other comparisons with North Beach

North Beach vs Wallaroo

Other comparisons with Wallaroo Plain

Wallaroo Plain vs Wallaroo Wallaroo Plain vs Kadina Wallaroo Plain vs Tickera Wallaroo Plain vs Alford Wallaroo Plain vs Willamulka
Full data on North Beach Full data on Wallaroo Plain
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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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