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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Karnup is an outer-metropolitan suburb of Perth, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,096, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 52 km from the Perth CBD, Karnup is a outer metro area in Western Australia. The median household income is $110,344 per year.
Strong household incomes in Karnup underpin solid property demand. The outer location offers affordability but may see slower price appreciation.
Official Australia Post postcode for Karnup. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Karnup on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Karnup is a smaller community of 2,096 — about 37% of the Western Australia suburb median (5,605) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Households here earn $110,344/year on average — 11% above the WA suburb median of $99,736 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Rent of $370/week (86% coverage of the $1,857/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $254/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Karnup is 52 km from Perth, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
This suburb suits long-term investors due to steady population growth and affordable entry prices. Look for established streets close to schools and shops rather than raw new-estate land. Local rents consume roughly 17% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Karnup stacks up against the median of all Western Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Karnup sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Karnup | WA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,096 | 5,605 | -63% |
| Median household income | $110,344/yr | $99,736/yr | +11% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $370 | $350 | +6% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,857 | $1,902 | -2% |
| Distance to CBD | 52 km | 20 km | +160% |
| Separate houses | 92% | 79% | +13pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Karnup — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,096 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Western Australia market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $370/week (~$1,603/month) covers 86% of the $1,857/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $254/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 92% houses in a 2,096-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Karnup property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Karnup are modest for 2026 — incomes 11% above the WA median of $99,736 and a population of 2,096 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~86% of the typical mortgage ($1,603/month rent vs $1,857/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 50/100 places Karnup in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Karnup scores 50/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,096, median household income of $110,344/year and median weekly rent of $370. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Karnup are an above-state-median household income of $110,344/year, a dwelling mix that is 92% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Karnup has a usual resident population of approximately 2,096, compared with a Western Australia suburb median of 5,605 — 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.
Karnup sits 52 km straight-line from the Perth CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $370 in Karnup, equating to approximately $19,240/year in gross rental income (state median $350/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Karnup is $1,857, or approximately $22,284/year (vs $1,902/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.
A median weekly rent of $370 works out to $1,603/month, covering 86% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,857/month. That leaves a $254/month shortfall (around $3,048/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.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,096 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,857 median mortgage, the broader Western Australia market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.