Collie (WA), WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Collie is a town in the South West of Western Australia, on the Collie River about 200 kilometres south of Perth and inland from Bunbury. It takes its name from the river, which the explorer James Stirling named after Alexander Collie, one of the first Europeans to reach the district in 1829. Coal was found in the area in the early 1880s, the town was gazetted in 1897, and mining began in earnest in 1898 once the railway arrived. Coal has shaped Collie ever since, feeding the nearby Muja, Collie and Bluewaters power stations. The Collie and Harris rivers and nearby Wellington Dam make it a popular base for fishing, swimming and boating, and the town won a national Tidy Towns award in 2006.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Collie (WA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 861, 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.
Collie (WA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 7,599
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,177
- SEIFA score
- 861
- Coordinates
- -33.3597, 116.1446
Collie (WA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Collie (WA) 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 26%, 21% of homes are rented, and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,388 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 811 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,676 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,981 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,746 | 23% |
Share of the 7,602 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,188 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,035 | 35% |
| Rented | 627 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,722 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 108 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 104 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,955 occupied private dwellings in Collie (WA).
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,263
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,524
- Median weekly personal income
- $574
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 838 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 197 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 362 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,779 (30%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.7%
- Employed full-time
- 1,595
- Employed part-time
- 989
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 Collie (WA)
Where is Collie (WA)?
Collie (WA) is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Collie (WA)?
At the 2021 Census, Collie (WA) had a population of about 7,599.
Is Collie (WA) an advantaged area?
Collie (WA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 861, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 5 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of Australian suburbs.
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