Coolgardie (WA), WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coolgardie is a historic gold-mining town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, lying about 550 kilometres east of Perth and a short drive west of Kalgoorlie. Its fortunes were made in 1892, when prospectors Arthur Bayley and William Ford struck gold and set off one of the colony's great rushes. Within a few years Coolgardie had swelled into the third-largest town in Western Australia, with a population around 15,000 and grand public buildings to match. As the surface gold ran out the town declined sharply, and by the early twentieth century it had dwindled to a fraction of its former size. Today Coolgardie survives as a heritage town, its wide streets and old buildings preserving the story of the goldfields boom.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Coolgardie (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 860, 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.
Coolgardie (WA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 773
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,260
- SEIFA score
- 860
- Coordinates
- -30.9497, 121.1540
Coolgardie (WA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coolgardie (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 37%, 26% of homes are rented, and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 124 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 65 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 145 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 286 | 37% |
| Seniors (65+) | 156 | 20% |
Share of the 776 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 114 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 76 | 26% |
| Rented | 75 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 259 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 5 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 12 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 287 occupied private dwellings in Coolgardie (WA).
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $927
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,850
- Median weekly personal income
- $760
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 119 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 47 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 111 (14%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 160 (25%)
- Labour-force participation
- 48.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.3%
- Employed full-time
- 190
- Employed part-time
- 74
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 Coolgardie (WA)
Where is Coolgardie (WA)?
Coolgardie (WA) is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Coolgardie (WA)?
At the 2021 Census, Coolgardie (WA) had a population of about 773.
Is Coolgardie (WA) an advantaged area?
Coolgardie (WA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 860, 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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