Wanneroo at fore of population increase
Perth's population growth has outstripped the rest of the nation, with an extra 550,000 people coming to live in the metropolitan area in the past 20 years.
The city's population soared 46 per cent from 1.2 million in 1991 to 1.7 million in 2011, an average of 2.3 per cent a year compared with the national average of 1.5 per cent.
North-west Wanneroo has experienced the biggest population surge - a 40.3 per cent increase - in the past two decades, a Committee for Perth report reveals today.
Committee for Perth chief executive Marion Fulker said Perth's growth was mainly in overseas migration, in greater numbers more recently from Asia and India, and this trend was expected to continue.
Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts said people were attracted to the city's beaches, lifestyle and sense of community.
Joanne Duncan and her family love living in Wanneroo suburb Carramar so much that when the time came to move to a bigger house in December, the choice was simple: stay in the area.
The proximity to the beach and Perth CBD attracted Carolyn and Ciaran O'Shea to the Wanneroo suburb of Tapping in 2006.
"We didn't know much about suburbs in Perth because I'm from Sydney and my husband is Irish, so when we were shown a map with areas we could afford to live in, we chose Tapping because we wanted to be as close as possible to the ocean, but also near the city," Mrs O'Shea said.
"Back then it was more affordable, so we were lucky to get in at the right time."
