Cottesloe, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Cottesloe is a beachside suburb of Perth, about 11 km west-south-west of the city centre and forming its own local government area, the Town of Cottesloe. One of Perth's best-known and most affluent coastal suburbs, it is built around Cottesloe Beach, a wide stretch of sand backed by terraced lawns and Norfolk Island pines. The heritage-listed Indiana Tea House overlooks the water, and each year the beach hosts the open-air Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. Settled from 1870, the suburb is named after Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe, a British politician and brother of the naval officer after whom nearby Fremantle is named.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Cottesloe is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1160, 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.
Cottesloe at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 7,750
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $3,351
- SEIFA score
- 1160
- Coordinates
- -31.9924, 115.7597
Cottesloe demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Cottesloe 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 28%, 26% of homes are rented, and 26% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,214 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 986 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,719 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,145 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,679 | 22% |
Share of the 7,743 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,297 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 757 | 26% |
| Rented | 767 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,998 | 69% |
| Townhouses & semis | 361 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 537 | 19% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,896 occupied private dwellings in Cottesloe.
- Median weekly rent
- $550
- Median monthly mortgage
- $3,925
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,593
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,458
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,908 (26%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 493 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 27 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 5,146 (83%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.5%
- Employed full-time
- 2,242
- Employed part-time
- 1,563
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.
Weather and climate in Cottesloe
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Cottesloe is February (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is August (around 17.6°C). The area receives roughly 624 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8°C | 18.9°C | 23 mm |
| Feb | 29.9°C | 19°C | 20 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 18.1°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 24.2°C | 14.9°C | 42 mm |
| May | 20.7°C | 12°C | 78 mm |
| Jun | 18.2°C | 10.5°C | 99 mm |
| Jul | 17.2°C | 10.4°C | 112 mm |
| Aug | 17.6°C | 9.7°C | 97 mm |
| Sep | 19.1°C | 10.7°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 21.6°C | 12.5°C | 37 mm |
| Nov | 25°C | 14.9°C | 21 mm |
| Dec | 28.1°C | 17.4°C | 8 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Cottesloe
Where is Cottesloe?
Cottesloe is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Cottesloe?
At the 2021 Census, Cottesloe had a population of about 7,750.
Is Cottesloe an advantaged area?
Cottesloe has an ABS SEIFA score of 1160, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 99 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Cottesloe?
Cottesloe has average daytime highs of about 23.3°C and overnight lows of about 14.1°C, with roughly 624 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Cottesloe have high household incomes?
Cottesloe has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Western Australia — the 12th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,351 per week).
Where Cottesloe ranks
Cottesloe appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
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