Wakerley vs Lota

Wakerley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 42 in Lota. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Wakerley, most households are couple families. In Lota, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Wakerley: a median of $1.6 million, against $1.31 million in Lota, and rent is higher there too. Wakerley is closer to the city centre: 18.8 km, against 22.9 km. On these figures, Wakerley tends to suit families with children and couples, while Lota suits 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

Wakerley

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (25 vs 9)
  • carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 45/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (84% vs 68%)
  • But Lota has more separate houses rather than flats (95% vs 84%)

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

First-home buyers

Lota

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($1,308,000 vs $1,600,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Lota

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($415/wk vs $510/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Wakerley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (18.8 km vs 22.9 km)

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

Downsizers and retirees

Wakerley

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (16% vs 5%)
  • carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 45/100)
  • But Lota has more residents already 65 and over (17% vs 9%)

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

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

Wakerley Lota
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.

Wakerley Lota
Walkability 58 / 57
Wakerley — Walkability: 58/100 Lota — Walkability: 57/100
Safety 74 / 55
Wakerley — Safety: 74/100 Lota — Safety: 55/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Wakerley — Low fire risk: 100/100 Lota — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Wakerley has more residents (8,718 vs 3,518); Wakerley has higher household incomes ($153,504 vs $116,272).

Wakerley Lota
Population 8,718
+60% vs other
 3,518
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.2% +8.0%
Median age 37 42
Median household income $153,504/yr
+24% vs other
 $116,272/yr
Median weekly rent $510/wk
+19% vs other
 $415/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Wakerley Lota
0-4 7.1% / 5.4%
Wakerley — 0-4: 7.1% Lota — 0-4: 5.4%
5-14 19.4% / 14.3%
Wakerley — 5-14: 19.4% Lota — 5-14: 14.3%
15-19 7.1% / 5.5%
Wakerley — 15-19: 7.1% Lota — 15-19: 5.5%
20-24 4.4% / 5.2%
Wakerley — 20-24: 4.4% Lota — 20-24: 5.2%
25-34 8.5% / 8.7%
Wakerley — 25-34: 8.5% Lota — 25-34: 8.7%
35-44 18.3% / 15.3%
Wakerley — 35-44: 18.3% Lota — 35-44: 15.3%
45-54 16.9% / 14.9%
Wakerley — 45-54: 16.9% Lota — 45-54: 14.9%
55-64 9.3% / 13.5%
Wakerley — 55-64: 9.3% Lota — 55-64: 13.5%
65-74 5.9% / 9.2%
Wakerley — 65-74: 5.9% Lota — 65-74: 9.2%
75-84 2.5% / 5.4%
Wakerley — 75-84: 2.5% Lota — 75-84: 5.4%
85+ 0.6% / 2.6%
Wakerley — 85+: 0.6% Lota — 85+: 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Wakerley 70.8% couple families
Wakerley — Couple Families: 70.8% Wakerley — Lone Person: 13.6% Wakerley — One Parent Families: 13.3% Wakerley — Group Household: 1.9% Wakerley — Other Families: 0.5%
Lota 51.9% couple families
Lota — Couple Families: 51.9% Lota — Lone Person: 27.7% Lota — One Parent Families: 15.8% Lota — Group Household: 3.3% Lota — Other Families: 1.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Wakerley 22.1% renting
Wakerley — Owned Outright: 22.1% Wakerley — Mortgage: 55.9% Wakerley — Renting: 22.1%
Lota 23.0% renting
Lota — Owned Outright: 31.2% Lota — Mortgage: 45.8% Lota — Renting: 23.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Wakerley Lota
Bachelor Degree 17.7% / 15.2%
Wakerley — Bachelor Degree: 17.7% Lota — Bachelor Degree: 15.2%
Certificate III & IV 10.9% / 14.7%
Wakerley — Certificate III & IV: 10.9% Lota — Certificate III & IV: 14.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.0% / 8.7%
Wakerley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.0% Lota — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.7%
Postgraduate Degree 6.0% / 4.7%
Wakerley — Postgraduate Degree: 6.0% Lota — Postgraduate Degree: 4.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.6% / 2.8%
Wakerley — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.6% Lota — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.7%).

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.

Wakerley Lota
England 4.7% / 7.0%
Wakerley — England: 4.7% Lota — England: 7.0%
New Zealand 5.1% / 4.8%
Wakerley — New Zealand: 5.1% Lota — New Zealand: 4.8%
South Africa 4.2% / 1.4%
Wakerley — South Africa: 4.2% Lota — South Africa: 1.4%
China 1.4% / 0.5%
Wakerley — China: 1.4% Lota — China: 0.5%
Scotland 0.8% / 0.9%
Wakerley — Scotland: 0.8% Lota — Scotland: 0.9%
India 1.5% / —
Wakerley — India: 1.5% Lota — India: not among its largest
Ireland — / 0.7%
Wakerley — Ireland: not among its largest Lota — Ireland: 0.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Wakerley 84.1% houses
Wakerley — Houses: 84.1% Wakerley — Townhouses: 15.6% Wakerley — Flats / Apartments: 0.3%
Lota 95.3% houses
Lota — Houses: 95.3% Lota — Townhouses: 3.7% Lota — Flats / Apartments: 1.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Wakerley Lota
Median house price $1,600,000 $1,308,000
Median unit price $347,500 —
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 29 days
from 71 sales
 24 days
from 38 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.

Wakerley Lota
3 bed $1.22M / $1.13M
Wakerley — 3 bed: $1.22M (8 sales) Lota — 3 bed: $1.13M (43 sales)

8 vs 43 sales

4 bed $1.49M / $1.42M
Wakerley — 4 bed: $1.49M (83 sales) Lota — 4 bed: $1.42M (29 sales)

83 vs 29 sales

5 bed $1.87M / $1.51M
Wakerley — 5 bed: $1.87M (30 sales) Lota — 5 bed: $1.51M (9 sales)

30 vs 9 sales

Development activity

Wakerley Lota
New dwellings approved 9,382
across Brisbane
same for both
Approvals change year on year +9%
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.

Wakerley Lota
Houses 3.8%
$920/wk on $1.26M
 3.5%
$780/wk on $1.18M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Wakerley Lota
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 97% of QLD —
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 89% of QLD Higher than 88% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 95% of QLD Higher than 89% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 95% of QLD Higher than 84% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 41% of QLD Higher than 23% of QLD

Liveability

Wakerley scores higher overall (88 vs 78).

Wakerley Lota
Grade A+ A
Score 88/100 78/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Lota carries more crime risk (45 vs 26).

Wakerley Lota
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
26/100
 Moderate
45/100
Flood —
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Low
22/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Wakerley Lota
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 1
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Wakerley

  • OneSchool Global QLD - Wakerley Independent · Combined above peers

Schools in Lota

  • Lota State School Government · Primary above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Wakerley Lota
Cafes & restaurants 0 2
Parks & reserves 25 9
Childcare 1 2
Waterways 0 2

Mobility

Lota sits further from the CBD (22.9 km vs 18.8 km).

Wakerley Lota
Walkability score 58/100 57/100
Distance to Brisbane 18.8 km 22.9 km
+22% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 29 min 33 min
Public transport score 77/100
Bus
 71/100
Rail · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 45.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 23.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 2.2%
postcode 4154
 1.4%
postcode 4179
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 84
postcode 4154
 65
postcode 4179

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.

Wakerley Lota
Car (driver) 63.7% / 62.1%
Wakerley — Car (driver): 63.7% Lota — Car (driver): 62.1%
Worked from Home 27.5% / 25.7%
Wakerley — Worked from Home: 27.5% Lota — Worked from Home: 25.7%
Train 2.1% / 6.7%
Wakerley — Train: 2.1% Lota — Train: 6.7%
Car (passenger) 4.1% / 4.0%
Wakerley — Car (passenger): 4.1% Lota — Car (passenger): 4.0%
Bus 1.7% / 0.5%
Wakerley — Bus: 1.7% Lota — Bus: 0.5%
Bicycle 0.3% / 0.6%
Wakerley — Bicycle: 0.3% Lota — Bicycle: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (63.7%).

Setting

Wakerley Lota
Elevation 14 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 6 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 3.6 km
4.5 km to a named beach
 286 m
1.2 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Wakerley Lota
Connectivity score 89/100 75/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Hybrid fibre-coaxial
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 60%
2,969 premises
 2%
1,444 premises

Climate

Wakerley Lota
Annual rainfall 1,032 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 30.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 8.9°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Wakerley Lota
PM2.5 3.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Wakerley Lota
Average residential rate $1,519/yr
same for both
Council Brisbane
same for both

Federal electorate

Wakerley Lota
Division Bonner
same for both
Member Kara Cook
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Wakerley Lota
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Wakerley

Family Middle-Ring Parks Premium

Lota

Beach Coastal Large Blocks Middle-Ring Parks Quiet Trains

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Wakerley

Wakerley vs Manly West Wakerley vs Tingalpa Wakerley vs Gumdale Wakerley vs Ransome

Other comparisons with Lota

Lota vs Manly West Lota vs Manly Lota vs Thorneside Lota vs Ransome
Full data on Wakerley Full data on Lota
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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