Denham, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Denham is a small coastal town in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, set on the Peron Peninsula about 830 kilometres north of Perth, and is often described as the westernmost town in Australia. The Shark Bay area is the Country of the Malgana people, recognised as native title holders in 2018, whose connection to the bay reaches back many thousands of years. The town began as a pearling camp in the nineteenth century and is named after Captain Henry Mangles Denham of the Royal Navy, who charted Shark Bay in 1858. Pearling and fishing long sustained the settlement, but today its mainstay is tourism: Denham is the gateway to the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, the beaches of Francois Peron National Park, and the famous dolphins of nearby Monkey Mia.
Less advantaged than the national average
Denham is more socio-economically advantaged than about 21% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 931, 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.
Denham at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 849
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,021
- SEIFA score
- 931
- Coordinates
- -25.8977, 113.5982
Denham demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Denham 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 29%, 38% of homes are rented, and 27% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 112 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 61 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 220 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 241 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 208 | 25% |
Share of the 842 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 123 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 47 | 15% |
| Rented | 122 | 38% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 226 | 71% |
| Townhouses & semis | 20 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 9 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 320 occupied private dwellings in Denham.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,387
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,449
- Median weekly personal income
- $754
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 191 (27%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 78 (11%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 76 (9%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 278 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 53.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.8%
- Employed full-time
- 250
- Employed part-time
- 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.
Common questions about Denham
Where is Denham?
Denham is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Denham?
At the 2021 Census, Denham had a population of about 849.
Is Denham an advantaged area?
Denham has an ABS SEIFA score of 931, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 21 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 21% of Australian suburbs.
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