Gwelup

Development Activity

Schools in Gwelup iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged

Demographics

The median age of 42 is 2.0 years above the national figure, and the trajectory is aging: the senior share rose 5.9 points while the working-age share fell 5.1 points over the decade. Overseas-born residents reach 28.5%, which is 6.9 points above national. Ancestry leans Anglo-Celtic and southern European, led by English (2,184), Scottish (541), Irish (531) and Italian (527), and the top non-English languages are Mandarin (59 speakers), Italian (38) and Cantonese (20). University qualifications at 45.5% run 15.4 points above national. Average household size is 2.8, which is 0.3 above national, consistent with a family profile where couples with children (2,291) far outnumber couples without (1,002).

Tenure tilts toward buyers carrying debt: 47.0% hold a mortgage, 43.1% own outright and only 9.9% rent. That mortgage majority, unusual in a high-advantage suburb, signals a base of working families still paying down large homes rather than retired outright owners. The stock is 85.2% separate houses and just 3.0% apartments, with 8.9% semi-detached, and four-or-more-bedroom homes dominate at 62.3% against three-bedroom at 24.9%. Despite the estimated $713,000 median, affordability stays comfortable because both mortgage-to-income and rent-to-income sit at 22.6%, well below the 30% stress mark, supported by household income in the 94.4th percentile. Affordability has held broadly stable, easing only slightly from 48.6% in 2011 to 47.1% in 2021.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

The workforce concentrates in services rather than the resource jobs typical of WA: Healthcare leads at 16.0% (306 workers), Professional/Tech follows at 15.0% (288) and Education at 12.1% (231), with Construction at 9.7% and Mining a smaller 8.5%. By occupation, Professionals (903) and Managers (453) make up the largest groups, which aligns with the decile 9 IEO score for education and occupation. Unemployment is low at 2.9% and the full-time employment rate is 62.2%. Participation reads 60.6%, held down by 1,352 residents not in the labour force, consistent with the aging profile. The suburb scores decile 10 on IER for economic resources, reflecting the high incomes and detached-house wealth.

Transport to Work

The suburb is heavily car-dependent: 87.8% of commuters drive, while only 4.4% take public transport and 2.6% walk or cycle, both below national norms and a function of the low-density, detached layout at 1,836 residents per km2. Gwelup earns decile 10 on IRSAD, the top advantage tier nationally, and decile 10 on IRSD for relative disadvantage, so very few residents face deprivation, though 6.3% (326 people) still need daily assistance given the older median age of 42. Volunteering runs at 18.5%. No schools are recorded inside the 2.94 km2 boundary in this dataset, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring suburbs, a practical trade-off in a small, residential pocket.

Population Forecast

Gwelup is classified established but still expanding: annual population growth runs 1.31% and the 10-year change reaches 19.4%, with signals showing acceleration from a 4% pace toward 17%. Overseas migration is the primary driver, adding about 280 residents a year, well above the net internal gain of 56. The gentrification stage reads early signs with a score of 39, supported by the more than 22% population rise since 2011 and steady inflows. The trajectory is aging, the senior share up 5.9 points against a 5.1-point fall in working-age residents, so growth is coming more from migration than from a younger demographic. Real incomes grew 4.4% over the decade, a modest gain relative to the population increase.

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How Gwelup compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions