Wilson vs Ferndale

Wilson is the younger of the two, with a median age of 35 against 41 in Ferndale. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. Wilson is closer to the city centre: 11 km, against 14.7 km. On these figures, Wilson tends to suit young adults and share households.

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

  • Wilson has more parks and reserves (19 vs 9)
  • Ferndale has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

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

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Wilson has a bigger rental market to choose from (39% vs 22%)
  • Ferndale has cheaper rent ($314/wk vs $350/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Wilson

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (17 min vs 23 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (11 km vs 14.7 km)
  • But Ferndale is more walkable (79/100 vs 61/100)

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

Downsizers and retirees

Ferndale

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 4%)
  • carries lower crime risk (47/100 vs 69/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (23% vs 17%)

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

Investors

Ferndale

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.9% vs 4.3%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Wilson Ferndale
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.

Wilson Ferndale
Walkability 61 / 79
Wilson — Walkability: 61/100 Ferndale — Walkability: 79/100
Safety 31 / 53
Wilson — Safety: 31/100 Ferndale — Safety: 53/100
Low fire risk 56 / 50
Wilson — Low fire risk: 56/100 Ferndale — Low fire risk: 50/100
Low flood risk 20 / 17
Wilson — Low flood risk: 20/100 Ferndale — Low flood risk: 17/100

Demographics

Wilson has more residents (6,608 vs 4,457); Ferndale skews older (41 vs 35).

Wilson Ferndale
Population 6,608
+33% vs other
 4,457
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.6% +2.9%
Median age 35 41
Median household income $86,736/yr
+8% vs other
 $79,716/yr
Median weekly rent $350/wk
+10% vs other
 $314/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Wilson Ferndale
0-4 5.8% / 6.1%
Wilson — 0-4: 5.8% Ferndale — 0-4: 6.1%
5-14 9.5% / 10.2%
Wilson — 5-14: 9.5% Ferndale — 5-14: 10.2%
15-19 4.7% / 5.1%
Wilson — 15-19: 4.7% Ferndale — 15-19: 5.1%
20-24 9.9% / 5.7%
Wilson — 20-24: 9.9% Ferndale — 20-24: 5.7%
25-34 18.9% / 13.2%
Wilson — 25-34: 18.9% Ferndale — 25-34: 13.2%
35-44 13.7% / 14.0%
Wilson — 35-44: 13.7% Ferndale — 35-44: 14.0%
45-54 9.9% / 11.3%
Wilson — 45-54: 9.9% Ferndale — 45-54: 11.3%
55-64 10.7% / 11.4%
Wilson — 55-64: 10.7% Ferndale — 55-64: 11.4%
65-74 7.8% / 12.6%
Wilson — 65-74: 7.8% Ferndale — 65-74: 12.6%
75-84 5.7% / 6.9%
Wilson — 75-84: 5.7% Ferndale — 75-84: 6.9%
85+ 3.4% / 3.6%
Wilson — 85+: 3.4% Ferndale — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.9%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Wilson 36.4% couple families
Wilson — Couple Families: 36.4% Wilson — Lone Person: 36.9% Wilson — One Parent Families: 11.2% Wilson — Group Household: 12.6% Wilson — Other Families: 2.9%
Ferndale 40.1% couple families
Ferndale — Couple Families: 40.1% Ferndale — Lone Person: 38.9% Ferndale — One Parent Families: 14.7% Ferndale — Group Household: 4.2% Ferndale — Other Families: 2.1%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Wilson 38.7% renting
Wilson — Owned Outright: 30.4% Wilson — Mortgage: 31.0% Wilson — Renting: 38.7%
Ferndale 22.2% renting
Ferndale — Owned Outright: 36.5% Ferndale — Mortgage: 41.3% Ferndale — Renting: 22.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Wilson Ferndale
Bachelor Degree 20.3% / 14.7%
Wilson — Bachelor Degree: 20.3% Ferndale — Bachelor Degree: 14.7%
Certificate III & IV 10.6% / 15.7%
Wilson — Certificate III & IV: 10.6% Ferndale — Certificate III & IV: 15.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.5% / 8.1%
Wilson — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5% Ferndale — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.1%
Postgraduate Degree 7.5% / 3.7%
Wilson — Postgraduate Degree: 7.5% Ferndale — Postgraduate Degree: 3.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.4% / 2.2%
Wilson — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.4% Ferndale — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2%

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

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.

Wilson Ferndale
England 4.8% / 8.1%
Wilson — England: 4.8% Ferndale — England: 8.1%
Malaysia 5.9% / 3.0%
Wilson — Malaysia: 5.9% Ferndale — Malaysia: 3.0%
China 4.6% / 2.4%
Wilson — China: 4.6% Ferndale — China: 2.4%
India 4.1% / 2.1%
Wilson — India: 4.1% Ferndale — India: 2.1%
New Zealand 1.5% / 2.6%
Wilson — New Zealand: 1.5% Ferndale — New Zealand: 2.6%
Indonesia 2.1% / —
Wilson — Indonesia: 2.1% Ferndale — Indonesia: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (8.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Wilson 95.5% houses
Wilson — Houses: 95.5% Wilson — Townhouses: 3.6% Wilson — Flats / Apartments: 0.9%
Ferndale 82.2% houses
Ferndale — Houses: 82.2% Ferndale — Townhouses: 17.4% Ferndale — Flats / Apartments: 0.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Wilson Ferndale
Median house price $942,500 $867,500
Median unit price $815,000 $752,000
Median land price $510,000 $537,500
Typical days to sell (houses) 18 days
from 73 sales
 16 days
from 20 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.

Wilson Ferndale
3 bed $886K / $855K
Wilson — 3 bed: $886K (64 sales) Ferndale — 3 bed: $855K (28 sales)

64 vs 28 sales

4 bed $1.03M / $950K
Wilson — 4 bed: $1.03M (60 sales) Ferndale — 4 bed: $950K (19 sales)

60 vs 19 sales

Development activity

Wilson Ferndale
New dwellings approved 423
across Canning
same for both
Approvals change year on year -3%
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.

Wilson Ferndale
Houses 4.3%
$790/wk on $949K
 4.9%
$750/wk on $799K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within WA

Wilson Ferndale
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 51% of WA Higher than 41% of WA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 86% of WA Higher than 95% of WA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 77% of WA Higher than 96% of WA
NBN connectivity Higher than 84% of WA Higher than 90% of WA
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 47% of WA Higher than 77% of WA

Liveability

Ferndale is more walkable (79 vs 61).

Wilson Ferndale
Grade C
same for both
Score 45/100
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10

Risk profile

Wilson carries more crime risk (69 vs 47).

Wilson Ferndale
Bushfire Moderate
44/100
 Moderate
50/100
Crime Moderate
69/100
 Moderate
47/100
Flood High
80/100
 High
83/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
 Moderate
50/100
Industrial facilities nearby 19
within 5 km
 22
within 5 km

Schools

Wilson Ferndale
Inside the suburb 2 1
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 3
Curtin University of Technology, 1.6 km
 2
Curtin University of Technology, 3.1 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 5.0% 2.5%

Schools in Wilson

  • Wilson Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Rehoboth Christian College - Wilson Campus Independent · Primary

Schools in Ferndale

  • Fountain College - Ferndale Campus Independent · Combined above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Wilson Ferndale
Cafes & restaurants 2 0
Parks & reserves 19 9
Childcare 3 1
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 0 1
Waterways 2 7

Mobility

Ferndale sits further from the CBD (14.7 km vs 11 km).

Wilson Ferndale
Walkability score 61/100 79/100
Distance to Perth 11 km 14.7 km
+34% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 17 min 23 min
Public transport score 94/100
Bus
 79/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 203.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
 124.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 1.0%
postcode 6107
 2.3%
postcode 6148
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 52
postcode 6107
 62
postcode 6148

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.

Wilson Ferndale
Car (driver) 75.7% / 77.7%
Wilson — Car (driver): 75.7% Ferndale — Car (driver): 77.7%
Worked from Home 7.1% / 8.2%
Wilson — Worked from Home: 7.1% Ferndale — Worked from Home: 8.2%
Car (passenger) 5.6% / 4.7%
Wilson — Car (passenger): 5.6% Ferndale — Car (passenger): 4.7%
Bus 6.3% / 3.3%
Wilson — Bus: 6.3% Ferndale — Bus: 3.3%
Train 4.0% / 4.4%
Wilson — Train: 4.0% Ferndale — Train: 4.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (77.7%).

Setting

Wilson Ferndale
Elevation 9 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 4 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 15.1 km
2.9 km to a named beach
 16.4 km
4.0 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Wilson Ferndale
Connectivity score 72/100 77/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 49%
2,947 premises
 58%
2,093 premises

Climate

Wilson Ferndale
Annual rainfall 745 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.4°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 7.6°C
same for both

Council rates

Wilson Ferndale
Average residential rate $1,833/yr
same for both
Council Canning
same for both

Federal electorate

Wilson Ferndale
Division Swan
same for both
Member Zaneta Mascarenhas
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Wilson Ferndale
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $800,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Wilson

Easy Commute Large Blocks Middle-Ring Multicultural Parks Quiet Transport Hub

Ferndale

Middle-Ring Parks Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Wilson

Wilson vs Bentley Wilson vs Cannington Wilson vs Riverton Wilson vs Waterford

Other comparisons with Ferndale

Ferndale vs Beckenham Ferndale vs Cannington Ferndale vs Riverton Ferndale vs Parkwood Ferndale vs Langford Ferndale vs Lynwood
Full data on Wilson Full data on Ferndale
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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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