Dongara, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Dongara is a coastal town in the Mid West of Western Australia, set at the mouth of the Irwin River about 350 kilometres north of Perth and a short distance south of Geraldton. With its twin settlement of Port Denison it forms a single seaside community whose name is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word for the river estuary. European settlement began in 1853 around the harbour, and a townsite was surveyed in 1871. Long a wheat and sheep district, Dongara is also a busy fishing port, well known for its rock-lobster boats, and natural gas has been produced from the surrounding field since the 1960s. The old steam flour mill survives as a reminder of its colonial past.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Dongara is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, 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.
Dongara at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,393
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,092
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Coordinates
- -29.2427, 114.9267
Dongara demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Dongara 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%, 24% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 223 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 111 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 253 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 421 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 388 | 28% |
Share of the 1,396 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 244 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 151 | 28% |
| Rented | 129 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 482 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 25 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 26 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 542 occupied private dwellings in Dongara.
- Median weekly rent
- $268
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,600
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,600
- Median weekly personal income
- $600
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 202 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 25 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 69 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 377 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.3%
- Employed full-time
- 299
- Employed part-time
- 214
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 Dongara
Where is Dongara?
Dongara is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Dongara?
At the 2021 Census, Dongara had a population of about 1,393.
Is Dongara an advantaged area?
Dongara has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
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