Salmon Gums, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Salmon Gums is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 106 kilometres north of Esperance and 780 kilometres south-east of Perth, in the Shire of Esperance. It takes its name from a prominent stand of salmon gum trees, Eucalyptus salmonophloia, that early settlers used as a landmark; the land lies in the country of the Kalaako people. The townsite was reserved in 1912 and gazetted in 1925, when the railway from Esperance reached it, and soldier settlers took up land here after the First World War. A government research station later helped correct the district's poor soils, and today the area grows wheat and other cereals, with the town serving as a grain receival site. The Coolgardie-Esperance Highway runs through it.
More advantaged than the national average
Salmon Gums is more socio-economically advantaged than about 78% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1039, 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.
Salmon Gums at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 146
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $900
- SEIFA score
- 1039
- Coordinates
- -32.8555, 121.6918
Salmon Gums demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Salmon Gums 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 38%, 12% of homes are rented, and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 32 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 6 | 4% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 24 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 56 | 38% |
| Seniors (65+) | 29 | 20% |
Share of the 147 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 29 | 57% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3 | 6% |
| Rented | 6 | 12% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 52 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 52 occupied private dwellings in Salmon Gums.
- Median weekly rent
- $104
- Median monthly mortgage
- $661
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,312
- Median weekly personal income
- $604
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 17 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 9 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 3 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 48 (44%)
- Labour-force participation
- 73.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.4%
- Employed full-time
- 54
- Employed part-time
- 25
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 Salmon Gums
Where is Salmon Gums?
Salmon Gums is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Salmon Gums?
At the 2021 Census, Salmon Gums had a population of about 146.
Is Salmon Gums an advantaged area?
Salmon Gums has an ABS SEIFA score of 1039, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 78 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 78% of Australian suburbs.
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