Crawley, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Crawley is a riverside western suburb of Perth, set on the Swan River about six kilometres from the city centre within the City of Perth. It is best known as the home of the University of Western Australia, the state's oldest university, whose grand sandstone buildings and Matilda Bay foreshore give the suburb its character. The area was first called Crawley Park, named by an early landowner, Henry Charles Sutherland, for his mother's family. Along the water sits the Crawley Edge Boatshed, a small blue shed raised on piles in the 1930s that has become one of Perth's most photographed sights. Nearby, in the shallows of Matilda Bay, the statue known as Eliza recalls the Crawley Baths, the city's chief swimming spot for half a century. The Royal Perth Yacht Club has its home at Pelican Point.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Crawley is more socio-economically advantaged than about 88% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1065, 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.
Crawley at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,975
- Median age
- 24
- Median weekly household income
- $1,368
- SEIFA score
- 1065
- Coordinates
- -31.9805, 115.8178
Crawley demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Crawley 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 youth (15–24) at 45%, 63% of homes are rented, and 54% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 302 | 8% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,784 | 45% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,096 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 302 | 8% |
| Seniors (65+) | 485 | 12% |
Share of the 3,969 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 296 | 26% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 101 | 9% |
| Rented | 717 | 63% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 70 | 6% |
| Townhouses & semis | 267 | 23% |
| Flats & apartments | 803 | 70% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,140 occupied private dwellings in Crawley.
- Median weekly rent
- $350
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,941
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,976
- Median weekly personal income
- $435
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,030 (54%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,516 (40%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 103 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,222 (88%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 11.5%
- Employed full-time
- 598
- Employed part-time
- 1,101
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.
Weather and climate in Crawley
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Crawley is February (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is August (around 17.6°C). The area receives roughly 624 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8°C | 18.9°C | 23 mm |
| Feb | 29.9°C | 19°C | 20 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 18.1°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 24.2°C | 14.9°C | 42 mm |
| May | 20.7°C | 12°C | 78 mm |
| Jun | 18.2°C | 10.5°C | 99 mm |
| Jul | 17.2°C | 10.4°C | 112 mm |
| Aug | 17.6°C | 9.7°C | 97 mm |
| Sep | 19.1°C | 10.7°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 21.6°C | 12.5°C | 37 mm |
| Nov | 25°C | 14.9°C | 21 mm |
| Dec | 28.1°C | 17.4°C | 8 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Crawley
Where is Crawley?
Crawley is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Crawley?
At the 2021 Census, Crawley had a population of about 3,975.
Is Crawley an advantaged area?
Crawley has an ABS SEIFA score of 1065, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 88 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 88% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Crawley?
Crawley has average daytime highs of about 23.3°C and overnight lows of about 14.1°C, with roughly 624 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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