Suburb overview
West Lakes Shore is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Adelaide, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,236, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 13 km from the Adelaide CBD, West Lakes Shore is a middle ring area in South Australia. The median household income is $91,416 per year.
Location
Key indicators
Postcode
5020
Postcode for West Lakes Shore, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
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Population
3,236
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$790/wk
Median weekly rent — as at Jan–Mar 2026, Consumer & Business Services (SA) (CC BY 4.0).
Distance to CBD
13 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Sale prices & yield
Median house price
$1,360,000
Median house sale price — as at Q1 2026, Valuer-General (SA) (CC BY 4.0). Figure covers suburb (metro Adelaide).
Indicative gross yield
3%
Estimated as current median rent × 52 ÷ current median house price. A guide only — not a guaranteed return; excludes costs, vacancy and buying expenses.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,950/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
65% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why people like living in West Lakes Shore
- Well-connected to Adelaide at ~13 km from the CBD.
- Established streets, local shops, and schools within the neighbourhood.
Who West Lakes Shore suits
Pros and cons
Pros
- Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
- Established middle-ring position between the CBD and the urban fringe.
- Established infrastructure and existing community base.
Cons
- Median mortgage sits above the South Australia state median — entry costs are stretched.
- Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.
Investment insight
3,236 residents places West Lakes Shore squarely in the middle of the South Australia suburb size distribution (state median 3,699), with market depth comparable to most SA localities. Households here earn $91,416/year on average — 13% above the SA suburb median of $80,964 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Median rent of $790/week (as at Jan–Mar 2026, Consumer & Business Services (SA)) equates to roughly $3,423/month — about 176% of the $1,950/month median mortgage repayment recorded at the 2021 Census. On those figures rental income covers most or all of the recorded repayment, but repayments on new loans have risen with interest rates since 2021, so re-run the coverage at today's rates before treating this as a cash-flow suburb. 13 km from Adelaide places West Lakes Shore in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
Investment tip
Middle-ring locations like this one historically reward patient holders — focus on homes near catchment-zone schools and major transport. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 22% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
West Lakes Shore vs South Australia median
How West Lakes Shore stacks up against the median of all South Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean West Lakes Shore sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | West Lakes Shore | SA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,236 | 3,699 | -13% |
| Median household income | $91,416/yr | $80,964/yr | +13% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $390 | $320 | +22% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,950 | $1,616 | +21% |
| Distance to CBD | 13 km | 13 km | 0% |
| Separate houses | 65% | 73% | -8pp |
Investor checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for West Lakes Shore — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 3,236 residents — 87% of the SA suburb median (3,699).
- Purchasing power: median household income $91,416/year (+13% vs South Australia suburb median of $80,964).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $390/week rent (≈ $1,690/month) covered ~87% of the $1,950/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 13 km straight-line from Adelaide (state suburb median 13 km).
- Dwelling mix: 65% separate houses — mixed market (vs 73% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$195/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,950/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 22% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment strategy
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: West Lakes Shore's 3,236-person market and $91,416 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $390/week (~$1,690/month) covered 87% of the $1,950/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $260/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
With 65% houses in a 3,236-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Risk factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $1,950/month median mortgage in West Lakes Shore means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $195/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Liquidity risk: with 3,236 residents, West Lakes Shore has a thinner pool of buyers and tenants than larger suburbs. Expect longer days-on-market on resale and budget for potential vacancy gaps between tenancies.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in West Lakes Shore regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in West Lakes Shore with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
Run the numbers on a West Lakes Shore property
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Start your journey near West Lakes Shore →2026 outlook
Capital-growth expectations for West Lakes Shore are modest for 2026 — incomes 13% above the SA median of $80,964 and a population of 3,236 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~87% of the typical mortgage ($1,690/month rent vs $1,950/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for West Lakes Shore is balanced heading into the second half of 2026, based on its income, rent and mortgage profile relative to the South Australia median.
Frequently asked questions
Is West Lakes Shore a good suburb for investment?
Whether West Lakes Shore suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 3,236, a median household income of $91,416/year and median weekly rent of $390. Weigh those against your goal — cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — each of which we break down with suburb-specific ABS numbers elsewhere on this page.
What drives property demand in West Lakes Shore?
The main demand drivers in West Lakes Shore are proximity to Adelaide (13 km), an above-state-median household income of $91,416/year, a dwelling mix that is 65% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of West Lakes Shore?
West Lakes Shore has a usual resident population of approximately 3,236, compared with a South Australia suburb median of 3,699 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
How far is West Lakes Shore from the Adelaide CBD?
West Lakes Shore sits 13 km straight-line from the Adelaide CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
What is the median rent in West Lakes Shore?
The median weekly rent in West Lakes Shore is $790 (as at Jan–Mar 2026, Consumer & Business Services (SA)), equating to approximately $41,080/year in gross rental income. Confirm against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
What is the typical mortgage repayment in West Lakes Shore?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in West Lakes Shore is $1,950, or approximately $23,400/year (vs $1,616/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
Is West Lakes Shore cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $390 works out to $1,690/month, covering 87% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,950/month. That leaves a $260/month shortfall (around $3,120/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
What are the main risks of investing in West Lakes Shore?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (3,236 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,950 median mortgage, the broader South Australia market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
How we built this West Lakes Shore profile
The population figure on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census. The postcode comes from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. The dwelling mix is from the ABS 2021 Census. The median household income is the ABS 2021 Census median weekly household income, annualised. Distance to the CBD is calculated from the suburb's ABS centroid. The Census median rent and mortgage figures are 2021 figures and are labelled as such wherever they appear — they are five years old and have moved substantially since. The current median weekly rent in Key indicators is a genuine recent figure from Consumer & Business Services (SA) (Jan–Mar 2026), published under a Creative Commons licence and dated on the page. The median sale price shown comes from Valuer-General (SA) (Q1 2026), published under a Creative Commons licence and dated on the page. We do not publish an investment score or school/park counts for this suburb. See our methodology and data sources for exactly what's measured and what's estimated.