Nedlands, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Nedlands is a leafy western suburb of Perth, about 7 km from the city centre on the City of Nedlands. It is believed to take its name from Edward 'Ned' Bruce, whose father, Colonel John Bruce, bought land in the area in 1854; the property known as 'Ned's Land' was in time softened to Nedlands, and several streets still carry the Bruce family names. The suburb has a mixed character — student housing near the neighbouring University of Western Australia, gracious homes and a golf course to the south, and a strip of restaurants, shops and the Windsor Cinema along Stirling Highway. It is also a major medical precinct, taking in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth Children's Hospital and the wider Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Nedlands is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1152, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Nedlands a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Nedlands from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
99/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (99/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
6/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $500 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 6% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Nedlands at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 10,561
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $2,832
- SEIFA score
- 1152
- Local government area
- Nedlands
- Coordinates
- -31.9787, 115.8028
Map of Nedlands
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Nedlands
What it costs to live in Nedlands and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $500
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $3,347
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 70%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 26%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Nedlands demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Nedlands demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Nedlands using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 25% and 36% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,921 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,546 | 15% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,233 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,635 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,220 | 21% |
Share of the 10,555 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,609 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,016 | 27% |
| Rented | 967 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,792 | 75% |
| Townhouses & semis | 583 | 16% |
| Flats & apartments | 337 | 9% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,712 occupied private dwellings in Nedlands.
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,803
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,121
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,653 (36%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,885 (18%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 32 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 7,054 (86%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.3%
- Employed full-time
- 2,933
- Employed part-time
- 2,067
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Nedlands
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Nedlands is February (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is August (around 17.6°C). The area receives roughly 624 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8°C | 18.9°C | 23 mm |
| Feb | 29.9°C | 19°C | 20 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 18.1°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 24.2°C | 14.9°C | 42 mm |
| May | 20.7°C | 12°C | 78 mm |
| Jun | 18.2°C | 10.5°C | 99 mm |
| Jul | 17.2°C | 10.4°C | 112 mm |
| Aug | 17.6°C | 9.7°C | 97 mm |
| Sep | 19.1°C | 10.7°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 21.6°C | 12.5°C | 37 mm |
| Nov | 25°C | 14.9°C | 21 mm |
| Dec | 28.1°C | 17.4°C | 8 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Nedlands
Is Nedlands a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Nedlands rates 68/100 overall (Strong on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Nedlands?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Nedlands was $500, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $3,347. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Nedlands?
Nedlands is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Nedlands local government area.
What is the population of Nedlands?
At the 2021 Census, Nedlands had a population of about 10,561.
Is Nedlands an advantaged area?
Nedlands has an ABS SEIFA score of 1152, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 99 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Nedlands?
Nedlands has average daytime highs of about 23.3°C and overnight lows of about 14.1°C, with roughly 624 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Nedlands have high household incomes?
Nedlands has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Western Australia — the 20th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($2,832 per week).
Where Nedlands ranks
Nedlands appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.