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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
South Lake is an outer-metropolitan suburb of Perth, Australia, with a population of approximately 5,831, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 18 km from the Perth CBD, South Lake is a outer metro area in Western Australia. The median household income is $90,584 per year.
Above-average earnings in South Lake support sustained property values.
Official Australia Post postcode for South Lake. 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 South Lake on My School →Estimated 2 parks 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.
5,831 residents places South Lake squarely in the middle of the Western Australia suburb size distribution (state median 5,605), with market depth comparable to most WA localities. Household income of $90,584/year is 9% below the Western Australia median of $99,736, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median weekly rent of $350 equates to $1,517/month — about 95% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,600/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. 18 km from Perth places South Lake in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
Outer-metro suburbs reward careful property selection — aim for homes near infrastructure rather than generic house-and-land packages. Local rents consume roughly 20% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How South Lake stacks up against the median of all Western Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean South Lake sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | South Lake | WA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,831 | 5,605 | +4% |
| Median household income | $90,584/yr | $99,736/yr | -9% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $350 | $350 | 0% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,600 | $1,902 | -16% |
| Distance to CBD | 18 km | 20 km | -10% |
| Separate houses | 86% | 79% | +7pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for South Lake — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: South Lake's 5,831-person market and $90,584 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: $350/week (~$1,517/month) covers 95% of the $1,600/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $83/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 86% houses in a 5,831-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 South Lake property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Property values in South Lake should track the wider Western Australia market through 2026, with the $90,584/year median household income (9% below the $99,736 state median) keeping the suburb firmly mid-pack. Rental coverage runs at ~95% of the typical mortgage ($1,517/month rent vs $1,600/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 63/100 places South Lake in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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South Lake scores 63/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 5,831, median household income of $90,584/year and median weekly rent of $350. 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 South Lake are proximity to Perth (18 km), a median household income of $90,584/year, a dwelling mix that is 86% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 2 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.
South Lake has a usual resident population of approximately 5,831, compared with a Western Australia suburb median of 5,605 — placing it in the upper 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.
South Lake sits 18 km straight-line from the Perth CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $350 in South Lake, equating to approximately $18,200/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 South Lake is $1,600, or approximately $19,200/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 $350 works out to $1,517/month, covering 95% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,600/month. That leaves a $83/month shortfall (around $996/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 interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,600 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.