Located in Western Australia, Shoalwater sits 52 km from Perth CBD, around 52 minutes by car. The suburb has 4,368 residents, a median age of 49, and a median household income of $63,700 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 6.5% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $260 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,668. The area shows high coastal erosion risk and high crime risk. Walkability is high.
Is Shoalwater a good suburb?
Shoalwater scores a B (50/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit.
Very walkable
Walkability 72/100 · 51.9 km · 52 min drive to Perth
Median available
Median $875K
Moderate crime risk
Fire 28/100 · Crime 69/100 · Flood 0/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 49 · 4,368 residents
Liveability Rating
50 / 100 · Ranked #246 in WAEach bar is Shoalwater'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 Shoalwater?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
50 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataShoalwater's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $875,000, roughly 18% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$875,000
Based on 90 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 22 days — median across 46 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 8 sales $578K
- 3 bed 43 sales $875K
- 4 bed 32 sales $880K
- 5 bed 7 sales $980K
Units
$500,000
Based on 33 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 13 days — median across 9 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 21 sales $505K
- 3 bed 6 sales $525K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Shoalwater are currently listed at around $899,000 on average. Based on 34 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$899K
34 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$542K
6 units listed in the last 6 months.
40 of the suburb's 1,836 dwellings (2.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Shoalwater rent for around $700 a week on average, based on 21 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$700/wk
21 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$450/wk
5 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
26 rentals advertised against an estimated 624 rented homes (4.2%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- All rentals
- $600/wk
- 33 bonds
- +40% 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 2025107 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 28% of its income on the median rent in postcode 6169.
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$700/week ($36,000 a year) on a $899,000 median
$450/week ($23,000 a year) on a $542,000 median
Based on a small sample (5 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
17 active Airbnb listings: 15 whole homes and 2 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.7% 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.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 611 m
- Rate
- -0.82 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -31.4 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Walkability
Shoalwater 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 Shoalwater.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 43.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 25.1 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 22.7 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 17.0 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 Shoalwater.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 36%
- Premises covered
- 2,519
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
Rockingham: 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 5 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Shoalwater is home to about 4,400 residents, with a median age of 49, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $64,000 a year, with unemployment at 8.2%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,368
Median Age
49
Median Household Income
$63,700/yr
Census Median Rent
$260/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,668/mo
Avg Household Size
2.1
Median Personal Income
$35,308/yr
Unemployment Rate
8.2%
Unoccupied Dwellings
21.8%
Total Dwellings
1,836
Owner-Occupier Rate
66.0%
Houses
76.6%
Rental Stress
21.2%
Mortgage Stress
31.4%
Work From Home
9.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
75 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 8 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 612 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 62.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 84.1%
- Employment Rate
- 48%
- Completed Year 12
- 39.1%
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.
77 residents (1.8%) 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 4,187 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
8% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (144 of 1,797).
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 756 people work here; 1,797 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.4 jobs per working resident. At least 50% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
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 $2,007 a year through Rockingham based on 2023 figures.
Building Approvals: Rockingham
In the year to August 2026, 1,869 new dwellings were approved across Rockingham. That mix is 1,797 houses and 72 units. Approvals are down 10.9% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Jandakot Aero, 26.8 kmModerate rainfall — very hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 9 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 614 m
- 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
1 facility within 5 km- 3.0 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
EV adoption
In postcode 6169, 145 of 27,814 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.7% (467 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.2%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 6169, 9,523 rooftop-solar systems totalling 43.1 MW have been installed since 2001, against 14,732 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 369 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
2 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 6169.
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 $875,000 this is $75,000 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 Madeleine King Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Madeleine King | 66.9% | 33.1% | -0.1 |
| 2022 | Madeleine King | 66.7% | 33.3% | -10.1 |
| 2019 | Madeleine King | 56.7% | 43.3% | +4.8 |
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 Magenta Marshall WA Labor
Next state election: 10 March 2029.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Magenta Marshall ALP | 61.8% |
| 2021 | Mark McGowan ALP | 87.7% |
| 2017 | Mark McGowan ALP | 73.4% |
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 Shoalwater?
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 4,368 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.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Shoalwater 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 Shoalwater
Is Shoalwater a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Shoalwater is moderate (69/100, ranked against other WA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Shoalwater?
Shoalwater has a low recorded bushfire history (28/100, 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 Shoalwater a good place to live?
Shoalwater has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (50/100), 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 Shoalwater?
Shoalwater, WA had a population of 4,368 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Shoalwater, WA?
The postcode for Shoalwater, WA is 6169.
How far is Shoalwater from Perth?
Shoalwater is 52 km from Perth CBD by road, about 52 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Shoalwater?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Shoalwater was $63,700 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 Shoalwater?
The median advertised rent in Shoalwater is $700 a week for houses (21 listings) and $450 a week for units (5 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Shoalwater?
The median age of residents in Shoalwater was 49 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Shoalwater at risk of bushfire?
Shoalwater has a low recorded bushfire history (28/100). 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.
Is Shoalwater walkable?
Shoalwater 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 Shoalwater?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Shoalwater, Jandakot Aero (26.8 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 Shoalwater?
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 Shoalwater belong to?
Shoalwater sits within the Rockingham local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Shoalwater?
The average residential rates bill through Rockingham is $2,007 a year (2023). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Shoalwater?
Across Rockingham, 1,869 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 10.9% 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 Shoalwater in?
Shoalwater sits within the federal Division of Brand, currently held by Madeleine King (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.