Carnamah, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Carnamah is a small farming town in the Mid West of Western Australia, about 307 kilometres north of Perth along the old Midlands road. It takes its name from a pastoral property established by Duncan Macpherson in the late 1860s, which in turn was named after Carnamah Spring; the word's meaning is uncertain, perhaps Aboriginal or possibly a Gaelic phrase rendered as 'cairn of the cattle'. A telegraph station opened in 1873, the Midland railway arrived in 1894, and the townsite was gazetted in 1913. Today it is a wheat and sheep district served by bulk grain handling. In 2024 the town unveiled a five-to-one scale replica of a Chamberlain tractor, billed as the world's largest tractor sculpture.
Less advantaged than the national average
Carnamah is more socio-economically advantaged than about 35% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 961, 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.
Carnamah at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 407
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,350
- SEIFA score
- 961
- Coordinates
- -29.7122, 115.9541
Carnamah demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Carnamah 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 28%, 28% of homes are rented, and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 64 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 30 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 117 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 111 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 96 | 23% |
Share of the 418 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 72 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 23 | 14% |
| Rented | 46 | 28% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 152 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 5 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 164 occupied private dwellings in Carnamah.
- Median weekly rent
- $150
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,875
- Median weekly personal income
- $823
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 41 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 12 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 14 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 127 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.1%
- Employed full-time
- 128
- Employed part-time
- 50
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 Carnamah
Where is Carnamah?
Carnamah is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Carnamah?
At the 2021 Census, Carnamah had a population of about 407.
Is Carnamah an advantaged area?
Carnamah has an ABS SEIFA score of 961, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 35 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 35% of Australian suburbs.
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