Whale Beach vs Palm Beach

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Whale Beach, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Whale Beach: a median of $5.55 million, against $4.65 million in Palm Beach, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Whale Beach tends to suit people living alone, while Palm Beach 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

Palm Beach

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (14 vs 3)
  • is already more of a family suburb (54% vs 43%)
  • But Whale Beach carries lower crime risk (35/100 vs 47/100)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Whale Beach leaves households under less mortgage stress (24% vs 33%)
  • Palm Beach has cheaper houses ($4,650,000 vs $5,550,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Too close to call

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

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

Commuting to the city

Whale Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (41.3 km vs 44.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Whale Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (35/100 vs 47/100)

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

Investors

Whale Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (24.5% vs 3.7%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Whale Beach Palm Beach
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.

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Walkability 37 / 41
Whale Beach — Walkability: 37/100 Palm Beach — Walkability: 41/100
Safety 65 / 53
Whale Beach — Safety: 65/100 Palm Beach — Safety: 53/100
Low fire risk 100 / 62
Whale Beach — Low fire risk: 100/100 Palm Beach — Low fire risk: 62/100

Demographics

Palm Beach has more residents (1,652 vs 315); Whale Beach has higher household incomes ($170,820 vs $145,964).

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Population 315 1,652
+424% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +24.5% +3.7%
Median age 60 58
Median household income $170,820/yr
+15% vs other
 $145,964/yr
Median weekly rent $950/wk
+6% vs other
 $895/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Whale Beach Palm Beach
0-4 2.2% / 3.4%
Whale Beach — 0-4: 2.2% Palm Beach — 0-4: 3.4%
5-14 8.6% / 6.7%
Whale Beach — 5-14: 8.6% Palm Beach — 5-14: 6.7%
15-19 3.8% / 4.9%
Whale Beach — 15-19: 3.8% Palm Beach — 15-19: 4.9%
20-24 3.5% / 3.5%
Whale Beach — 20-24: 3.5% Palm Beach — 20-24: 3.5%
25-34 9.5% / 5.6%
Whale Beach — 25-34: 9.5% Palm Beach — 25-34: 5.6%
35-44 8.3% / 7.3%
Whale Beach — 35-44: 8.3% Palm Beach — 35-44: 7.3%
45-54 7.0% / 12.2%
Whale Beach — 45-54: 7.0% Palm Beach — 45-54: 12.2%
55-64 18.7% / 18.5%
Whale Beach — 55-64: 18.7% Palm Beach — 55-64: 18.5%
65-74 17.8% / 20.5%
Whale Beach — 65-74: 17.8% Palm Beach — 65-74: 20.5%
75-84 16.8% / 14.5%
Whale Beach — 75-84: 16.8% Palm Beach — 75-84: 14.5%
85+ 2.2% / 2.5%
Whale Beach — 85+: 2.2% Palm Beach — 85+: 2.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Whale Beach 50.7% lone person
Whale Beach — Lone Person: 50.7% Whale Beach — Couple Families: 38.7% Whale Beach — One Parent Families: 4.0% Whale Beach — Group Household: 6.7% Whale Beach — Other Families: 0.0%
Palm Beach 42.4% lone person
Palm Beach — Lone Person: 42.4% Palm Beach — Couple Families: 40.1% Palm Beach — One Parent Families: 13.5% Palm Beach — Group Household: 2.9% Palm Beach — Other Families: 1.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Whale Beach 15.5% renting
Whale Beach — Owned Outright: 62.1% Whale Beach — Mortgage: 22.4% Whale Beach — Renting: 15.5%
Palm Beach 17.4% renting
Palm Beach — Owned Outright: 58.1% Palm Beach — Mortgage: 24.5% Palm Beach — Renting: 17.4%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Bachelor Degree 30.2% / 24.7%
Whale Beach — Bachelor Degree: 30.2% Palm Beach — Bachelor Degree: 24.7%
Postgraduate Degree 11.1% / 8.9%
Whale Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 11.1% Palm Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 8.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.0% / 10.1%
Whale Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.0% Palm Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.1%
Certificate III & IV 4.8% / 9.5%
Whale Beach — Certificate III & IV: 4.8% Palm Beach — Certificate III & IV: 9.5%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.6% / 2.2%
Whale Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6% Palm Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (30.2%).

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.

Whale Beach Palm Beach
England 5.7% / 7.6%
Whale Beach — England: 5.7% Palm Beach — England: 7.6%
New Zealand 2.9% / 2.7%
Whale Beach — New Zealand: 2.9% Palm Beach — New Zealand: 2.7%
South Africa 1.0% / 0.8%
Whale Beach — South Africa: 1.0% Palm Beach — South Africa: 0.8%
Germany 1.0% / 0.5%
Whale Beach — Germany: 1.0% Palm Beach — Germany: 0.5%
Vietnam 1.3% / —
Whale Beach — Vietnam: 1.3% Palm Beach — Vietnam: not among its largest
Italy — / 0.7%
Whale Beach — Italy: not among its largest Palm Beach — Italy: 0.7%
Ireland — / 0.6%
Whale Beach — Ireland: not among its largest Palm Beach — Ireland: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.6%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Whale Beach 95.9% houses
Whale Beach — Houses: 95.9% Whale Beach — Flats / Apartments: 4.1% Whale Beach — Townhouses: 0.0%
Palm Beach 88.9% houses
Palm Beach — Houses: 88.9% Palm Beach — Flats / Apartments: 9.9% Palm Beach — Townhouses: 1.2%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Median house price $5,550,000 $4,650,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) — 92 days
from 18 sales

Zoning mix

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Environmental 82% 77%
Parks and recreation 16%
same for both
Infrastructure and transport 0% 3%
Residential 0% 3%
Planning zones cover 99% of Whale Beach and 99% of Palm Beach. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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

Whale Beach Palm Beach
New dwellings approved 620
across Northern Beaches
same for both
Approvals change year on year +51%
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.

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Houses 2.5%
$2,600/wk on $5.42M
 2.7%
$2,812/wk on $5.4M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Whale Beach Palm Beach
House price Higher than 99% of NSW
same for both
Income — Higher than 94% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 77% of NSW Higher than 79% of NSW
Affordability — Higher than 3% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 95% of NSW Higher than 99% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 65% of NSW
same for both
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 7% of NSW Higher than 11% of NSW

Liveability

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Grade — B
Score — 65/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Palm Beach carries more bushfire risk (38 vs 0); Palm Beach carries more crime risk (47 vs 35).

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
38/100
Crime Low
35/100
 Moderate
47/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion Low
23/100
 Moderate
55/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Whale Beach Palm Beach
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

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Cafes & restaurants 0 6
Parks & reserves 3 14
Childcare 0 1
EV chargers 0 1
Beaches 1
same for both
Waterways 0 1

Mobility

Palm Beach sits further from the CBD (44.4 km vs 41.3 km).

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Walkability score 37/100 41/100
Distance to Sydney 41.3 km 44.4 km
+8% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 58 min 62 min
Electric vehicle share 2.5%
postcode 2107
 4.0%
postcode 2108
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 27
postcode 2107
 20
postcode 2108

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.

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Worked from Home 63.6% / 52.5%
Whale Beach — Worked from Home: 63.6% Palm Beach — Worked from Home: 52.5%
Car (driver) 36.4% / 42.0%
Whale Beach — Car (driver): 36.4% Palm Beach — Car (driver): 42.0%
Car (passenger) — / 3.1%
Whale Beach — Car (passenger): not among its largest Palm Beach — Car (passenger): 3.1%
Walked Only — / 2.5%
Whale Beach — Walked Only: not among its largest Palm Beach — Walked Only: 2.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (63.6%).

Setting

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Elevation 0 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
same for both
Distance to the ocean 21 m
317 m to a named beach
 9 m
608 m to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Connectivity score 45/100
same for both
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
268 premises
 0%
1,346 premises

Climate

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Annual rainfall 1,176 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Whale Beach Palm Beach
PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.2 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.23 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Average residential rate $1,696/yr
same for both
Council Northern Beaches
same for both

Federal electorate

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Division Mackellar
same for both
Member Sophie Scamps
same for both
Party Independent
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Whale Beach Palm Beach
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Whale Beach

Beach Beachfront Coastal Large Blocks Luxury Outer Parks Professionals Retirees

Palm Beach

Beach Coastal Large Blocks Luxury Outer Parks Professionals Quiet Retirees

More comparisons

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Whale Beach vs Avalon Beach

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Palm Beach vs Avalon Beach
Full data on Whale Beach Full data on Palm Beach
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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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