Dardanup, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Dardanup is a town in the South West of Western Australia, in the fertile Ferguson Valley about 13 kilometres south-east of Bunbury and 190 kilometres south of Perth. Its name is believed to be a variation of an Aboriginal word, Dudingup, whose meaning is now unknown. European settlement began in 1852 when Thomas Little took up land he named Dardanup Park, and the town that grew around it served the surrounding dairy and farming district; the townsite was gazetted in 1923. Dardanup was the birthplace of Sir James Mitchell, who became Premier of Western Australia and later the state's Governor, the only person to hold both offices. The Ferguson River runs through the green valley nearby.
Less advantaged than the national average
Dardanup is more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 954, 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.
Is Dardanup a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Dardanup from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
31/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (31/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
50/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $285 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 50% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Dardanup at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 588
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $1,701
- SEIFA score
- 954
- Local government area
- Dardanup
- Coordinates
- -33.4032, 115.7784
Map of Dardanup
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Dardanup
What it costs to live in Dardanup and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $285
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,625
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 82%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 18%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Dardanup demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Dardanup demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Dardanup 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 26% and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 121 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 73 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 129 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 155 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 116 | 20% |
Share of the 594 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 75 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 103 | 47% |
| Rented | 39 | 18% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 221 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 221 occupied private dwellings in Dardanup.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,960
- Median weekly personal income
- $751
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 88 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 9 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 12 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 204 (46%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.7%
- Employed full-time
- 169
- Employed part-time
- 92
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 Dardanup
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Dardanup is January (average daytime high around 30.3°C) and the coolest is August (around 16.1°C). The area receives roughly 702 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.3°C | 16.1°C | 11 mm |
| Feb | 29.7°C | 16.3°C | 19 mm |
| Mar | 27°C | 15.6°C | 38 mm |
| Apr | 22.7°C | 12.9°C | 48 mm |
| May | 18.9°C | 10.5°C | 87 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 9.2°C | 105 mm |
| Jul | 15.7°C | 8.8°C | 139 mm |
| Aug | 16.1°C | 8.3°C | 110 mm |
| Sep | 17.5°C | 8.9°C | 73 mm |
| Oct | 20°C | 10.2°C | 44 mm |
| Nov | 24.1°C | 12.2°C | 20 mm |
| Dec | 28.1°C | 14.5°C | 8 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Dardanup
Is Dardanup a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Dardanup rates 37/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Dardanup?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Dardanup was $285, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,625. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Dardanup?
Dardanup is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Dardanup local government area.
What is the population of Dardanup?
At the 2021 Census, Dardanup had a population of about 588.
Is Dardanup an advantaged area?
Dardanup has an ABS SEIFA score of 954, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 31 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Dardanup?
Dardanup has average daytime highs of about 22.2°C and overnight lows of about 12°C, with roughly 702 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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