Perth’s most densely packed suburbs revealed as Joondanna tops WA rankings

Joondanna has more houses packed into each square kilometre than any other suburb in WA, according to new research.

The Perth north-west suburb tops the State rankings with 1508 houses per square kilometre, putting it ahead of neighbouring Tuart Hill and Nollamara.

The figures mean Joondanna has a front door roughly every 26m if its houses were spread evenly across the suburb.

And the City of Stirling dominates the rankings, with its suburbs claiming the top seven positions.

Tuart Hill is second with 1441 houses per square kilometre, followed by Nollamara (1420), Doubleview (1364) and Scarborough (1282).

Innaloo (1242) and Westminster (1213) complete Stirling’s remarkable run.

Victoria Park is the first suburb outside the north-west cluster, ranking eighth with 1200 houses per square kilometre.

Mount Hawthorn (1157) and St James (1114) round out the top 10.

The research, conducted by web SEO experts at seobacklinks.com, used Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data and official suburb boundary files to calculate the number of houses per square kilometre.

Separate houses, semi-detached homes, terraces and townhouses with someone living in them were included, while flats and apartments were excluded.

Across the country, Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Newtown has the highest housing density, with 2350 houses per square kilometre.

WA ranks fourth among the States and Territories for the density of neighbourhoods where children typically live.

The typical WA child aged five to 14 lives in a neighbourhood with 731 houses per square kilometre, compared with 847 in Victoria, which ranks first.

Perth is fourth among Australia’s eight capital cities, with 828 houses per square kilometre.

Oliver Weston, founder of seobacklinks.com, said housing density varied significantly between suburbs and could influence how residents experienced their neighbourhoods.

“In Joondanna there’s a door roughly every 26m, while the typical Australian lives in a neighbourhood where it’s more like every 37m,” he said.

The research examined 2931 suburbs nationally, with minimum population, housing and land-area thresholds applied to ensure meaningful comparisons.

WA’S TOP 10 SUBURBS BY HOUSING DENSITY

1. Joondanna — 1508 (houses per sqkm)
2. Tuart Hill — 1441
3. Nollamara — 1420
4. Doubleview — 1364
5. Scarborough — 1282
6. Innaloo — 1242
7. Westminster — 1213
8. Victoria Park — 1200
9. Mount Hawthorn — 1157
10. St James — 1114

STATES AND TERRITORIES BY HOUSING DENSITY

1. Victoria — 847
2. New South Wales — 744
3. South Australia — 739
4. Western Australia — 731
5. Australian Capital Territory — 722
6. Queensland — 588
7. Tasmania — 393
8. Northern Territory — 321

Based on where the typical child aged five to 14 lives — houses per square kilometre