Dalkeith, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Dalkeith is a leafy, affluent riverside suburb of Perth, set on a peninsula of the Swan River within the City of Nedlands and consistently ranked among the city's most expensive places to buy a home. It takes its name from Dalkeith Cottage, built in 1833 by Captain Adam Armstrong, an early settler who had once managed the Earl of Dalkeith's estate in Scotland and carried the name across to his new house. On a farm later owned by James Gallop stands Gallop House, a two-storey home raised around 1872 and now the oldest surviving private residence in the suburb; long neglected, it was restored in the 1960s. Overlooking the water is the former Sunset Hospital, opened in 1904 and closed in 1995, several of whose heritage-listed buildings still stand among the gardens.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Dalkeith is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1192, 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.
Dalkeith at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,398
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $4,672
- SEIFA score
- 1192
- Coordinates
- -31.9969, 115.7999
Dalkeith demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Dalkeith 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%, 16% of homes are rented, and 39% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 825 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 655 | 15% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 713 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,241 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 976 | 22% |
Share of the 4,410 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 782 | 55% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 387 | 27% |
| Rented | 228 | 16% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,370 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 50 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,423 occupied private dwellings in Dalkeith.
- Median weekly rent
- $802
- Median monthly mortgage
- $5,000
- Average household size
- 3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,861
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,403
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,678 (39%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 829 (19%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 14 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,935 (88%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 3%
- Employed full-time
- 1,132
- Employed part-time
- 912
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 Dalkeith
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Dalkeith 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 Dalkeith
Where is Dalkeith?
Dalkeith is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Dalkeith?
At the 2021 Census, Dalkeith had a population of about 4,398.
Is Dalkeith an advantaged area?
Dalkeith has an ABS SEIFA score of 1192, 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 Dalkeith?
Dalkeith 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 Dalkeith have high household incomes?
Dalkeith has the highest median weekly household income of any suburb in Western Australia with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($4,672 per week).
Where Dalkeith ranks
Dalkeith appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.