Brookton, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Brookton is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about 140 kilometres south-east of Perth where the Brookton Highway meets the Great Southern Highway and railway. The townsite was first gazetted in 1895 as Seabrook, after an early settler named John Seabrook, but was changed to Brookton in 1899 to avoid confusion with another Seabrook near York. It developed as a railway and farming centre for the surrounding district, which today produces wheat, other grains, sheep and wool. The town is known for the biennial Brookton Old Time Motor Show, and its former police station and quarters now house a local museum. Brookton remains a quiet rural service centre.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Brookton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 890, 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.
Brookton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 732
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,189
- SEIFA score
- 890
- Coordinates
- -32.3623, 117.0210
Brookton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Brookton 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 seniors (65+) at 29%, 23% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 125 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 56 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 132 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 204 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 212 | 29% |
Share of the 729 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 131 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 52 | 19% |
| Rented | 63 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 257 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 10 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 267 occupied private dwellings in Brookton.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,567
- Median weekly personal income
- $547
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 86 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 40 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 82 (11%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 202 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.5%
- Employed full-time
- 164
- Employed part-time
- 99
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 Brookton
Where is Brookton?
Brookton is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Brookton?
At the 2021 Census, Brookton had a population of about 732.
Is Brookton an advantaged area?
Brookton has an ABS SEIFA score of 890, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 10 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of Australian suburbs.
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