Wattle Grove
Almost everything here points to young mortgaged families chasing space: 99.7% of dwellings are separate houses, 77.8% carry four or more bedrooms, and the median age of 34 sits 6 years below the national figure. Household income reaches the 90.2nd percentile at $2,377 a week, yet the $526,000 median house price keeps the mortgage-to-income ratio at just 19.4%, well below the 30% stress threshold. With 64.0% of households holding a mortgage and only 14.8% renting, this is an owner-occupier belt rather than an investor market. Average household size of 3.3 runs 0.8 above national, and 41.0% of residents were born overseas, 19.4 points higher than the national share.
Population
6,547
Median Age
34.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$2,377/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
0
Median House
$526K
Estimated from rent (2025)
The $526,000 median makes Wattle Grove affordable for a household earning in the 90.2nd percentile, which is why the mortgage-to-income ratio holds at 19.4%, far below the 30% stress line. Buyers come for size: 77.8% of homes have four or more bedrooms and 20.1% have three, while smaller two-bedroom stock is just 1.7%. Separate houses dominate at 99.7%, so there is effectively no apartment or townhouse alternative, and a purchase here means a detached family home on its own block. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,993, comfortable against the $2,377 weekly household income. The trade-off is that 64.0% of households already carry a mortgage and only 21.2% own outright, so the area attracts families taking on debt to upsize rather than downsizers or first-home cash buyers.
For Buyers
The $526,000 median makes Wattle Grove affordable for a household earning in the 90.2nd percentile, which is why the mortgage-to-income ratio holds at 19.4%, far below the 30% stress line. Buyers come for size: 77.8% of homes have four or more bedrooms and 20.1% have three, while smaller two-bedroom stock is just 1.7%. Separate houses dominate at 99.7%, so there is effectively no apartment or townhouse alternative, and a purchase here means a detached family home on its own block. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,993, comfortable against the $2,377 weekly household income. The trade-off is that 64.0% of households already carry a mortgage and only 21.2% own outright, so the area attracts families taking on debt to upsize rather than downsizers or first-home cash buyers.
For Investors
The renter pool is thin at 14.8%, well below the share you find in inner-city markets, which limits tenant turnover but also caps demand. Weekly rent of $430 against the $526,000 median implies a gross yield near 4.2%, healthier than premium Perth suburbs because the entry price is low. The 3.6% vacancy rate is balanced rather than tight, so rent growth is steady rather than explosive. Rent-to-income for local tenants sits at 18.1%, meaning households here can absorb increases without stress. The investment case is weakened by zero development applications in the past 12 months and a housing stock that is 99.7% separate houses, leaving no scope for subdivision or higher-density yield plays. This is a buy-and-hold family-rental market, not a capital-growth or development opportunity.
Schools in Wattle Grove iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Wattle Grove Primary School
K-6 · 870 students
Demographics
The median age of 34 runs 6 years below the national figure, and average household size of 3.3 sits 0.8 above national, both consistent with a young family base where couples with children make up 3,483 of 5,740 families against just 867 couples without children. Overseas-born residents reach 41.0%, which is 19.4 points above national, and the ancestry mix reflects this with English (1,680), Indian (692) and Chinese (630) leading. The top non-English languages are Mandarin (178 speakers), Malayalam (125) and Punjabi (81). University qualifications at 40.1% run 10 points above national, and religion is more varied than the WA norm, with Christianity (2,546) followed by sizeable Islam (641) and Hinduism (481) communities tied to the migrant intake.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
99.7%
Houses
N/A
Townhouse
N/A
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure tilts heavily toward mortgaged owners: 64.0% hold a mortgage, 21.2% own outright and only 14.8% rent, a profile typical of a recent-buyer family belt rather than long-settled wealth. The stock is almost entirely detached at 99.7% separate houses, with 77.8% carrying four or more bedrooms and 20.1% three, so the area is built for larger households, matching the 3.3 average household size that runs 0.8 above national. The $526,000 median is modest given household income in the 90.2nd percentile, which keeps mortgage-to-income at 19.4% and rent-to-income at 18.1%, both well under the 30% stress threshold. That affordability gap between high incomes and low purchase prices is the defining feature, and it explains why mortgage holders so heavily outnumber outright owners and renters combined.
Mortgage / mo
$1,993
Rent / wk
$430
HH Size
3.3
Personal Income / wk
$962
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
3.6%
Unoccupied
71
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
18.1%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
19.4%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
15.1%
Couples, no children
5,740
Total families
Economy & Employment
The workforce leans on Healthcare, which leads at 17.8% (393 workers), followed by Education at 9.5% (211) and Professional/Tech at 8.7% (192), with Mining at 7.5% (165) and Transport at 6.9% (152), a spread that ties the area to both Perth services and WA resource jobs. By occupation, Professionals (732) lead ahead of Clerical/Admin (454) and Managers (351). Unemployment sits at 5.2% with a participation rate of 69.0% and full-time employment at 65.9%. The SEIFA picture is mixed: IER (economic resources) reaches decile 7, above the IEO education-and-occupation score of decile 4, with IRSAD and IRSD both at decile 5. That gap is telling, household resources rank higher than education, because affordable housing and resource-sector wages lift material wealth above what qualifications alone would predict.
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
65.9%
Part-time
28.9%
Participation
69.0%
Employed
3,110
Occupations
Top Industries
University
40.1%
Postgraduate
11.6%
Born Overseas
41.0%
Dwellings
1,908
Transport to Work
Daily life here is built around the car: 90.4% of residents drive to work, well above the national average, while only 3.5% use public transport and 1.3% walk or cycle, a pattern set by the low density of 786.2 residents per square kilometre across 8.33 km2. No schools are recorded inside the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring suburbs. On wellbeing measures the area reads stable: only 3.0% of residents (186 people) need daily assistance and volunteering runs at 15.6%. SEIFA places the suburb at decile 5 on both IRSAD and IRSD, mid-range nationally, while the economic-resources score reaches decile 7, reflecting a comfortable, low-stress household base where mortgage-to-income holds at 19.4%.
Drive
90.4%
Public Transport
3.5%
Walk / Cycle
1.3%
Work from Home
N/A
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Wattle Grove compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wattle Grove a good suburb to live in?
Wattle Grove suits young families seeking space, with 99.7% separate houses and 77.8% carrying four or more bedrooms. Household income reaches the 90.2nd percentile while the $526,000 median keeps mortgage-to-income at just 19.4%, below the 30% stress line. The main trade-off is car dependence, with 90.4% driving to work.
What is the median house price in Wattle Grove?
The median house price is $526,000, modest given local household income in the 90.2nd percentile. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,993 and weekly rent is around $430, giving a mortgage-to-income ratio of 19.4%, well below the 30% stress threshold.
What schools are in Wattle Grove?
No schools are recorded inside the Wattle Grove boundary in this dataset, so families rely on schools in neighbouring suburbs. The resident base is well educated, with university qualifications at 40.1%, which is 10 points above the national figure.
Is Wattle Grove safe?
Detailed crime statistics are not available for Wattle Grove in this dataset. As an indirect indicator, only 3.0% of the 6,547 residents need daily assistance, and the suburb scores decile 5 on the IRSD index of relative disadvantage, mid-range nationally and consistent with a stable residential area.
Is Wattle Grove good for property investment?
Rent of $430 a week against the $526,000 median gives a gross yield near 4.2%, healthier than premium Perth suburbs. But the renter pool is thin at 14.8% and there were zero development applications in 12 months, so it is a buy-and-hold family rental market rather than a development play.
How is Wattle Grove's population changing?
The population is 6,547 with a young median age of 34, which is 6 years below national, pointing to family households still forming. Mobility is low, with a turnover rate of 14.4% and 85.6% of residents having stayed put, so growth comes from settled families rather than churn.
What languages are spoken in Wattle Grove?
About 41.0% of residents were born overseas, 19.4 points above the national figure. English is dominant, while the most common non-English languages are Mandarin (178 speakers), Malayalam (125), Punjabi (81) and Bengali (67), reflecting a strong Indian and Chinese migrant presence.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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