Bruce Rock, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bruce Rock is a small wheatbelt town in Western Australia, about 243 kilometres east of Perth and 49 kilometres south-west of Merredin. Originally known by the Aboriginal name Nunagin, the town and district were renamed after a nearby granite outcrop, Bruce's Rock, which in turn recalled John Rufus Bruce, a sandalwood cutter who worked the area in 1879. The townsite was gazetted in 1913, and grain handling has anchored the local economy ever since, with the wheat, barley and lupins of the surrounding farms still delivered to a bulk receival point in town. A tidy, well-kept place, Bruce Rock won the wheatbelt division of Australia's Tidy Towns award in 2003.
Less advantaged than the national average
Bruce Rock is more socio-economically advantaged than about 23% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 937, 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.
Bruce Rock at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 742
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,236
- SEIFA score
- 937
- Coordinates
- -31.8601, 118.1424
Bruce Rock demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bruce Rock 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 seniors (65+) at 30%, 23% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 142 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 58 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 150 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 172 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 223 | 30% |
Share of the 745 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 124 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 52 | 20% |
| Rented | 62 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 224 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 18 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 262 occupied private dwellings in Bruce Rock.
- Median weekly rent
- $160
- Median monthly mortgage
- $737
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,699
- Median weekly personal income
- $746
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 73 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 33 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 34 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 227 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 51.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- Employed full-time
- 206
- Employed part-time
- 76
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.
Common questions about Bruce Rock
Where is Bruce Rock?
Bruce Rock is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Bruce Rock?
At the 2021 Census, Bruce Rock had a population of about 742.
Is Bruce Rock an advantaged area?
Bruce Rock has an ABS SEIFA score of 937, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 23 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 23% of Australian suburbs.
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