Ferndale WA 6148
Ferndale is a suburb in Western Australia, 15 km from Perth CBD, around 23 minutes by car. Population is 4,457; the median age is 41 and the median household income is $79,716 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 2.9% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $314 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,700. The area shows high flood risk. All 1 school within the suburb boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is high.
Is Ferndale a good suburb?
Ferndale scores a C (45/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, weaker on safety.
Mixed results
1 school · 1 above peer schools
Walkable and central
Walkability 79/100 · 14.7 km · 23 min drive to Perth
Median available
Median $868K
High flood risk
Fire 50/100 · Crime 47/100 · Flood 83/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 5/10 · median age 41 · 4,457 residents
Liveability Rating
45 / 100 · Ranked #305 in WAEach bar is Ferndale's rank among WA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Ferndale?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
45 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataFerndale's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $868,000, roughly 16% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$867,500
8% above its 7 neighbours (median $799,944)
Based on 50 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 16 days — median across 20 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 28 sales $855K
- 4 bed 19 sales $950K
Units
$752,000
Based on 15 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 15 days — median across 4 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 5 sales $720K
- 3 bed 9 sales $795K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Ferndale are currently listed at around $799,000 on average. Based on 11 houses listed in the past six months.
$799K
11 houses listed in the last 6 months.
11 of the suburb's 1,729 dwellings (0.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Ferndale rent for around $750 a week on average, based on 23 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$750/wk
3% below its 7 neighbours (median $775/wk)
23 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
23 rentals advertised against an estimated 384 rented homes (6.0%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- All rentals
- $700/wk
- 13 bonds
- +41% 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 202588 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 34% of its income on the median rent in postcode 6148.
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$750/week ($39,000 a year) on a $799,000 median
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
10 active Airbnb listings: 3 whole homes and 7 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.
Aircraft Noise
ANEF Contour Details
Noticeable aircraft noise
Schools
One school serve Ferndale, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Fountain College - Ferndale Campus leads the pack.
- • 608 students in one school (avg 608)
Combined
Universities nearby
- 3.1 kmCurtin University of TechnologyCurtin University · 354 courses
- 9.4 kmMurdoch University (Murdoch)Murdoch University · 257 courses
2.5% 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
Ferndale is very walkable on foot — at 79/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Ferndale.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 124.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 90.8 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 63.4 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 20.1 hours
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 Ferndale.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 58%
- Premises covered
- 2,093
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
Canning: 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 11 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Ferndale is home to about 4,500 residents, with a median age of 41, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $80,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.2%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,457
Median Age
41
Median Household Income
$79,716/yr
Census Median Rent
$314/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,700/mo
Avg Household Size
2.4
Median Personal Income
$38,740/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.2%
Unoccupied Dwellings
8.4%
Total Dwellings
1,729
Owner-Occupier Rate
77.8%
Houses
82.2%
Rental Stress
20.5%
Mortgage Stress
25.6%
Work From Home
8.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
41 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 6 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 373 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 58.9%
- English Spoken at Home
- 73.7%
- Employment Rate
- 56.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 48.8%
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.
173 residents (3.9%) 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 4,184 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
15% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (313 of 2,100).
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.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,833 a year through Canning based on 2023 figures.
Building Approvals: Canning
In the year to August 2026, 423 new dwellings were approved across Canning. That mix is 345 houses and 78 units. Approvals are down 2.9% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Jandakot Aero, 9.0 kmModerate rainfall — very hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 4 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 16.4 km
- 4.0 km to a named beach
- Near high-voltage lines
- 23.4% of addresses
- 521 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 745 mm
- 80 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 31.4°C
- 30 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.6°C
- 2 frost days ≤ 0°C
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
22 facilities within 5 km- 2.3 km
- 2.9 km
- 2.9 km
- 3.0 kmOther Basic Non-Ferrous Metal ManufacturingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
- 3.0 kmMilk and Cream ProcessingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 6148, 331 of 14,477 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 4.5% (656 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 6.8%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 6148, 4,488 rooftop-solar systems totalling 23.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 7,224 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 307 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
1 mortgage broker is registered in this suburb, 13 across postcode 6148.
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 $867,500 this is $67,500 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 Zaneta Mascarenhas Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Zaneta Mascarenhas | 64.0% | 36.0% | +4.6 |
| 2022 | Zaneta Mascarenhas | 58.8% | 41.2% | -12.0 |
| 2019 | Steve Irons | 47.3% | 52.7% | -0.9 |
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 Ron Sao WA Labor
Next state election: 10 March 2029.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ron Sao ALP | 67.9% |
| 2021 | Bill Johnston ALP | 80.4% |
| 2017 | Bill Johnston ALP | 68.0% |
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 Ferndale?
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 4,457 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
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
Beckenham WA 6107
Cannington WA 6107
Wilson WA 6107
Riverton WA 6148
Parkwood WA 6147
Langford WA 6147
Compare Ferndale 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 Ferndale
Is Ferndale a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Ferndale is moderate (47/100, ranked against other WA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Ferndale?
Ferndale has a moderate recorded bushfire history (50/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a high share of it (83/100). Part of it sits inside an aircraft noise contour. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Ferndale a good place to live?
Ferndale has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (45/100), 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 Ferndale?
Ferndale, WA had a population of 4,457 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Ferndale, WA?
The postcode for Ferndale, WA is 6148.
How far is Ferndale from Perth?
Ferndale is 15 km from Perth CBD by road, about 23 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Ferndale?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Ferndale was $79,716 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 Ferndale?
The median advertised rent in Ferndale is $750 a week for houses (23 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Ferndale?
The median age of residents in Ferndale was 41 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Ferndale at risk of bushfire?
Ferndale has a moderate recorded bushfire history (50/100). 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 Ferndale?
There is 1 school inside the Ferndale boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Ferndale walkable?
Ferndale scores 79/100 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 Ferndale?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Ferndale, Jandakot Aero (9 km away), summer days average 31.4°C, winter nights 7.6°C, 745 mm of rain a year over 80 rainy days, and 30 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Ferndale?
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 Ferndale belong to?
Ferndale sits within the Canning local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Ferndale?
The average residential rates bill through Canning is $1,833 a year (2023). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Ferndale?
Across Canning, 423 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 2.9% 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 Ferndale in?
Ferndale sits within the federal Division of Swan, currently held by Zaneta Mascarenhas (Australian Labor Party).
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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.