The Plains vs Capel River

The Plains is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 52 in Capel River. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In The Plains, most households are couple families. In Capel River, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, The Plains tends to suit people living alone, families with children, and couples, while Capel River suits older residents.

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

Capel River

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is already more of a family suburb (83% vs 70%)

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

First-home buyers

The Plains

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (14% vs 34%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

The Plains

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (9% vs 26%)
  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (23% vs 11%)
  • has cheaper rent ($240/wk vs $375/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

The Plains

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (198.1 km vs 211 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (134 min vs 142 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Capel River

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (24% vs 12%)

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

Investors

The Plains

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (23.8% vs -2.9%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

The Plains Capel River
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.

The Plains Capel River
Walkability 0 / 0
The Plains — Walkability: 0/100 Capel River — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 74 / 83
The Plains — Safety: 74/100 Capel River — Safety: 83/100
Low fire risk 53 / 55
The Plains — Low fire risk: 53/100 Capel River — Low fire risk: 55/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
The Plains — Low flood risk: 100/100 Capel River — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Capel River has more residents (136 vs 52); The Plains has higher household incomes ($142,948 vs $75,816).

The Plains Capel River
Population 52 136
+162% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +23.8% -2.9%
Median age 48 52
Median household income $142,948/yr
+47% vs other
 $75,816/yr
Median weekly rent $240/wk $375/wk
+56% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

The Plains Capel River
0-4 5.8% / 5.1%
The Plains — 0-4: 5.8% Capel River — 0-4: 5.1%
5-14 25.0% / 5.9%
The Plains — 5-14: 25.0% Capel River — 5-14: 5.9%
15-19 7.7% / 6.6%
The Plains — 15-19: 7.7% Capel River — 15-19: 6.6%
20-24 — / 5.9%
The Plains — 20-24: not among its largest Capel River — 20-24: 5.9%
25-34 7.7% / 8.1%
The Plains — 25-34: 7.7% Capel River — 25-34: 8.1%
35-44 7.7% / 5.1%
The Plains — 35-44: 7.7% Capel River — 35-44: 5.1%
45-54 17.3% / 16.2%
The Plains — 45-54: 17.3% Capel River — 45-54: 16.2%
55-64 23.1% / 23.5%
The Plains — 55-64: 23.1% Capel River — 55-64: 23.5%
65-74 11.5% / 12.5%
The Plains — 65-74: 11.5% Capel River — 65-74: 12.5%
75-84 — / 11.0%
The Plains — 75-84: not among its largest Capel River — 75-84: 11.0%
85+ — / —
The Plains — 85+: not among its largest Capel River — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

The Plains 70.0% couple families
The Plains — Couple Families: 70.0% The Plains — Lone Person: 30.0% The Plains — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Capel River 52.2% couple families
Capel River — Couple Families: 52.2% Capel River — Lone Person: 17.4% Capel River — One Parent Families: 30.4%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

The Plains 23.1% renting
The Plains — Owned Outright: 34.6% The Plains — Mortgage: 42.3% The Plains — Renting: 23.1%
Capel River 10.9% renting
Capel River — Owned Outright: 52.2% Capel River — Mortgage: 37.0% Capel River — Renting: 10.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

The Plains 86.4% houses
The Plains — Houses: 86.4% The Plains — Townhouses: 18.2% The Plains — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Capel River 76.6% houses
Capel River — Houses: 76.6% Capel River — Townhouses: 12.8% Capel River — Flats / Apartments: 10.6%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

The Plains Capel River
Certificate III & IV 11.5% / 19.1%
The Plains — Certificate III & IV: 11.5% Capel River — Certificate III & IV: 19.1%
Bachelor Degree 9.6% / 14.0%
The Plains — Bachelor Degree: 9.6% Capel River — Bachelor Degree: 14.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma — / 10.3%
The Plains — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: not among its largest Capel River — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 3.7%
The Plains — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Capel River — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.1%).

Development activity

The Plains Capel River
New dwellings approved 226
across Capel
same for both
Approvals change year on year +52%
same for both

Ranking within WA

The Plains Capel River
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 94% of WA Higher than 38% of WA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 4% of WA Higher than 31% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 46% of WA Higher than 40% of WA
NBN connectivity Higher than 59% of WA Higher than 46% of WA

Liveability

The Plains Capel River
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

The Plains Capel River
Bushfire Moderate
47/100
 Moderate
45/100
Crime Low
26/100
 Low
17/100
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 1
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

The Plains Capel River
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

Amenities in the suburb

The Plains Capel River
Parks & reserves 0 1
Waterways 0 1

Mobility

Capel River sits further from the CBD (211 km vs 198.1 km).

The Plains Capel River
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Perth 198.1 km 211 km
+7% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 134 min 142 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 6237
 0.4%
postcode 6271
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 76
postcode 6237
 69
postcode 6271

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.

The Plains Capel River
Car (driver) 58.6% / 68.5%
The Plains — Car (driver): 58.6% Capel River — Car (driver): 68.5%
Worked from Home 17.2% / 24.1%
The Plains — Worked from Home: 17.2% Capel River — Worked from Home: 24.1%
Walked Only 24.1% / —
The Plains — Walked Only: 24.1% Capel River — Walked Only: not among its largest
Bus — / 7.4%
The Plains — Bus: not among its largest Capel River — Bus: 7.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (68.5%).

Setting

The Plains Capel River
Elevation 56 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 73 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 16.0 km 17.7 km

NBN connectivity

The Plains Capel River
Connectivity score 30/100 22/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
31 premises
 0%
60 premises

Climate

The Plains Capel River
Annual rainfall 851 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 30.9°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 6.7°C
same for both

Council rates

The Plains Capel River
Average residential rate $2,343/yr
same for both
Council Capel
same for both

Federal electorate

The Plains Capel River
Division Forrest
same for both
Member Ben Small
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

The Plains Capel River
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

The Plains

Family Rural

Capel River

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with The Plains

The Plains vs Boyanup The Plains vs Elgin The Plains vs Paynedale The Plains vs Gwindinup

Other comparisons with Capel River

Capel River vs Capel Capel River vs Elgin Capel River vs Tutunup Capel River vs Paynedale
Full data on The Plains Full data on Capel River
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