Balcatta WA 6021
Balcatta is a suburb in Western Australia, 15 km from Perth CBD, around 17 minutes by car. Population is 10,813; the median age is 39 and the median household income is $79,924 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The suburb grew 4.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $340 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,756. Balcatta is characterised by high crime risk and no recorded flood exposure. Of 5 schools within the suburb boundary, 3 rank above the state average, and walkability is high.
Is Balcatta a good suburb?
Balcatta scores a B (67/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on schools and transit, weaker on safety.
Above the state average
5 schools · 3 above peer schools · Top 12% in WA
Walkable and central
Walkability 72/100 · 14.9 km · 17 min drive to Perth
Median available
Median $952K
High crime risk
Fire 23/100 · Crime 81/100 · Flood 0/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 39 · 10,813 residents
Liveability Rating
67 / 100 · Ranked #127 in WAEach bar is Balcatta's rank among WA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Balcatta?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
67 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataBalcatta's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $952,000, roughly 18% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$952,000
21% above its 10 neighbours (median $790,000)
Based on 161 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 26 days — median across 96 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 12 sales $646K
- 3 bed 101 sales $908K
- 4 bed 36 sales $1.32M
- 5 bed 7 sales $1.43M
Units
$665,000
14% above its 7 neighbours (median $585,000)
Based on 29 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 20 days — median across 12 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 14 sales $575K
- 3 bed 12 sales $792K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Balcatta are currently listed at around $899,000 on average. Based on 60 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$899K
60 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$624K
6 units listed in the last 6 months.
66 of the suburb's 4,594 dwellings (1.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Balcatta rent for around $778 a week on average, based on 56 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$778/wk
4% above its 9 neighbours (median $750/wk)
56 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$712/wk
8 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
64 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,488 rented homes (4.3%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- All rentals
- $760/wk
- 51 bonds
- +37% since 2023
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. WA's bond data does not record bedrooms or dwelling type, so it covers all rentals together.Change since 2023 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 202591 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 33% of its income on the median rent in postcode 6021.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$778/week ($40,000 a year) on a $899,000 median
$712/week ($37,000 a year) on a $624,000 median
Based on a small sample (6 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Short-Stay Rentals
14 active Airbnb listings: 10 whole homes and 4 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.2% of the suburb's homes.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Schools
Five schools serve Balcatta, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Balcatta Primary School and St Lawrence Primary School lead the pack.
- • 2,268 students across 5 schools (avg 454)
- • Sectors: 4 Government, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 1045-1070, median 1060 (above the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Balcatta Senior High School (1,088 students)
Primary
Secondary
Universities nearby
- 9.9 kmECU City CampusEdith Cowan University · 73 courses
- 9.9 kmSCU PerthSouthern Cross University · 92 courses
1.8% of residents here are full-time university students aged 15–24.
Distance is measured to the suburb centre. A campus nearby does not by itself mean a student rental market — most suburbs within a few kilometres of one have a student share close to the national norm, and the figure above is what tells them apart.
Walkability
Balcatta is very walkable on foot — at 72/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Balcatta.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 308.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 160.6 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 113.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 19.6 hours
- Direct to CBD (peak)
- 1 min wait
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Balcatta.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 37%
- Premises covered
- 6,840
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Stirling: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 23 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 6 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Balcatta is home to about 10,800 residents, with a median age of 39, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $80,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.6%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
10,813
Median Age
39
Median Household Income
$79,924/yr
Census Median Rent
$340/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,756/mo
Avg Household Size
2.2
Median Personal Income
$41,808/yr
Unemployment Rate
4.6%
Unoccupied Dwellings
8.0%
Total Dwellings
4,594
Owner-Occupier Rate
67.6%
Houses
53.0%
Rental Stress
22.1%
Mortgage Stress
26.4%
Work From Home
7.3%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
247 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 34 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,438 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 57.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 60.6%
- Employment Rate
- 59.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 47.9%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
581 residents (5.4%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 10,175 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
26% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (1,393 of 5,446).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 12,322 people work here; 5,446 employed residents live here.
A jobs hub: 2.3 jobs for every working resident. At least 56% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,615 a year through Stirling based on 2023 figures.
Building Approvals: Stirling
In the year to August 2026, 1,557 new dwellings were approved across Stirling. That mix is 748 houses and 809 units. Approvals are up 22.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Subiaco Treatment Plant, 9.7 kmModerate rainfall.
- Elevation
- 29 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 6.3 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 19.6% of addresses
- 1,506 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 650 mm
- 75 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the suburb centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
4 facilities within 5 km- 1.3 kmMilk and Cream ProcessingTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
- 3.3 km
- 4.2 kmPoultry ProcessingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 4.5 kmPoultry ProcessingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 6021, 319 of 20,536 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 4.9% (1,012 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 6.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 6021, 3,869 rooftop-solar systems totalling 25.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 8,788 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 195 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$10,000 for new homes priced up to $800,000.
Cap is $800,000 SOUTH of the 26th parallel (which includes all of metropolitan Perth) and $1,000,000 NORTH of it. We store the southern figure because that is where almost every buyer is; the northern cap is higher, so the stored value never overstates eligibility. The southern cap rose from $750,000 on 7 May 2026 in the 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package. The same package moved the first home owner RATE OF DUTY thresholds, which is a different scheme and lives in the web repo's app/stamp_duty.py.
Mortgage repayments
13 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 27 across postcode 6021.
Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with RevenueWA
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $800,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Department of Finance WA.
At $952,000 this is $152,000 above the $800,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Department of Finance WA.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-26 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Anne Aly Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Anne Aly | 63.6% | 36.4% | +3.7 |
| 2022 | Anne Aly | 60.8% | 39.2% | -10.0 |
| 2019 | Anne Aly | 50.8% | 49.2% | -0.1 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by David Michael WA Labor
Next state election: 10 March 2029.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | David Michael ALP | 64.5% |
| 2021 | David Michael ALP | 75.8% |
| 2017 | David Michael ALP | 55.8% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Western Australian Electoral Commission.
Looking at a specific address in Balcatta?
Every figure above is a suburb average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 10,813 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Featured in
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- #1 in Where the Macedonian community lives in Perth
- #2 in Where the Italian community lives in Perth
- #3 in Perth suburbs where the most Greek is spoken at home
- #6 in Where the Greek community lives in Perth
- #8 in Where the Serbian community lives in Perth
- #12 in Perth suburbs where the most Gujarati is spoken at home
Checking the whole city?
Suburbs to avoid in Perth There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Perth suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.Nearby suburbs
Balga WA 6061
Nollamara WA 6061
Yokine WA 6060
Stirling WA 6021
Tuart Hill WA 6060
Carine WA 6020
Compare Balcatta to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other WA suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Balcatta
Is Balcatta a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Balcatta is high (81/100, ranked against other WA suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Balcatta?
Balcatta has a low recorded bushfire history (23/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). No mapped flood overlay applies. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Balcatta a good place to live?
Balcatta has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (67/100), ranked against other WA suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Balcatta?
Balcatta, WA had a population of 10,813 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Balcatta, WA?
The postcode for Balcatta, WA is 6021.
How far is Balcatta from Perth?
Balcatta is 15 km from Perth CBD by road, about 17 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Balcatta?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Balcatta was $79,924 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Balcatta?
The median advertised rent in Balcatta is $778 a week for houses (56 listings) and $712 a week for units (8 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Balcatta?
The median age of residents in Balcatta was 39 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Balcatta at risk of bushfire?
Balcatta has a low recorded bushfire history (23/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
How are the schools in Balcatta?
There are 5 schools inside the Balcatta boundary: 3 above and 2 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Balcatta walkable?
Balcatta scores 72/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the weather like in Balcatta?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Balcatta, Subiaco Treatment Plant (9.7 km away), 650 mm of rain a year over 75 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Balcatta?
First-home buyers in WA may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $800,000. The grant is administered by Department of Finance WA; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Balcatta belong to?
Balcatta sits within the Stirling local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Balcatta?
The average residential rates bill through Stirling is $1,615 a year (2023). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Balcatta?
Across Stirling, 1,557 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 22.7% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Balcatta in?
Balcatta sits within the federal Division of Cowan, currently held by Anne Aly (Australian Labor Party).
Search another suburb or address
Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2023–24
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2025
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.