Kalamunda vs Northam

Kalamunda and Northam are two Western Australian areas with very different levels of accessibility. Kalamunda is somewhat walkable, with 84.7% of homes within a 10 minute walk of public transport and 63.0% having a 15-minute-city walkshed. In contrast, Northam is mostly car-dependent, where only 13.4% of homes are near public transport. These differences extend to First Nations outcomes; in Kalamunda, the typical household income for First Nations people is $1,903, far higher than the $1,098 typical in Northam. Year 12 completion is also far higher in Kalamunda at 39.5%, compared to 21.1% in Northam.

Both areas are similar in the share of people who speak a First Nations language, at 8.0% in Kalamunda and 7.4% in Northam. They also share a similar level of access to education, with about 73% of homes in both places within a 15 minute walk of a school. While Kalamunda has a larger First Nations population and lower unemployment among this group, Northam's First Nations unemployment rate is much higher than most areas at 20.5%.