Norseman, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Norseman sits in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 726 kilometres east of Perth and 196 kilometres from the goldfields city of Kalgoorlie, on the traditional land of the Ngadju people. It marks the western end of the Eyre Highway and is the last major town before the long Nullarbor crossing to South Australia. Gold was found in the district from 1892, and according to local history the town and its reef took their name from a prospector's horse, Hardy Norseman, after a rich find in 1894; the townsite was gazetted the following year. The mine that grew here is described as Australia's longest continuously running gold operation. Gold, pastoralism and passing highway traffic still sustain the town, which serves as a gateway for travellers heading east across the continent.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Norseman is more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 823, 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.
Norseman at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 562
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $771
- SEIFA score
- 823
- Coordinates
- -32.3161, 120.8777
Norseman demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Norseman 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 36%, 24% of homes are rented, and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 59 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 52 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 110 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 200 | 36% |
| Seniors (65+) | 132 | 24% |
Share of the 553 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 109 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 28 | 12% |
| Rented | 58 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 235 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 242 occupied private dwellings in Norseman.
- Median weekly rent
- $150
- Median monthly mortgage
- $600
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,025
- Median weekly personal income
- $537
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 105 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 34 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 96 (17%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 124 (25%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.2%
- Employed full-time
- 121
- 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 Norseman
Where is Norseman?
Norseman is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Norseman?
At the 2021 Census, Norseman had a population of about 562.
Is Norseman an advantaged area?
Norseman has an ABS SEIFA score of 823, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 3 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of Australian suburbs.
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