Darkan, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Darkan is a small town in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia, about 202 kilometres south-east of Perth and roughly 60 kilometres from both Collie and Wagin, on the Coalfields Highway. Its name comes from a local Aboriginal word said to mean 'black rock'. William John Gibbs and his family settled the area in the 1860s, and the town itself grew after the Collie to Narrogin railway was built, with the townsite gazetted in 1906; shops and services followed as a road board was set up. Wool growing and mixed farming have long supported the district, and a grain depot still stands east of town. The railway closed in the early 1990s, but farming and tourism keep Darkan going as the seat of the West Arthur shire.
Around the national middle
Darkan is more socio-economically advantaged than about 55% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 995, 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.
Darkan at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 371
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,321
- SEIFA score
- 995
- Coordinates
- -33.3425, 116.7363
Darkan demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Darkan 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 30%, 19% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 67 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 32 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 75 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 114 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 86 | 23% |
Share of the 374 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 75 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 29 | 19% |
| Rented | 29 | 19% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 133 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 6 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 139 occupied private dwellings in Darkan.
- Median weekly rent
- $151
- Median monthly mortgage
- $980
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,946
- Median weekly personal income
- $953
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 40 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 15 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 139 (46%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.7%
- Employed full-time
- 117
- Employed part-time
- 56
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 Darkan
Where is Darkan?
Darkan is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Darkan?
At the 2021 Census, Darkan had a population of about 371.
Is Darkan an advantaged area?
Darkan has an ABS SEIFA score of 995, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 55 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 55% of Australian suburbs.
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