Exmouth, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Exmouth sits at the tip of the North West Cape, on the gulf of the same name, more than 1,200 kilometres north of Perth. The town is relatively young: it was built in 1964 to support a nearby United States naval communication station, whose tall radio towers still rise above the cape. Today Exmouth is far better known as the gateway to Ningaloo Reef, a World Heritage-listed fringing reef that runs close to shore, and to the rugged gorges of Cape Range National Park. Visitors come to snorkel and dive straight off the beach and, in season, to swim alongside the whale sharks and manta rays that gather along the reef.
Around the national middle
Exmouth is more socio-economically advantaged than about 59% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1002, 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.
Exmouth at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,806
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $2,029
- SEIFA score
- 1002
- Coordinates
- -21.9557, 114.1145
Exmouth demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Exmouth 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 young adults (25–44) at 34%, 42% of homes are rented, and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 511 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 299 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 953 | 34% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 713 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 332 | 12% |
Share of the 2,808 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 212 | 21% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 324 | 32% |
| Rented | 418 | 42% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 826 | 83% |
| Townhouses & semis | 25 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 50 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 993 occupied private dwellings in Exmouth.
- Median weekly rent
- $340
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,090
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,252
- Median weekly personal income
- $967
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 518 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 186 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 86 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,166 (52%)
- Labour-force participation
- 71.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.5%
- Employed full-time
- 978
- Employed part-time
- 470
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 Exmouth
Where is Exmouth?
Exmouth is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Exmouth?
At the 2021 Census, Exmouth had a population of about 2,806.
Is Exmouth an advantaged area?
Exmouth has an ABS SEIFA score of 1002, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 59 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 59% of Australian suburbs.
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