Darkan, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Darkan is a small town in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia, about 202 kilometres south-east of Perth and roughly 60 kilometres from both Collie and Wagin, on the Coalfields Highway. Its name comes from a local Aboriginal word said to mean 'black rock'. William John Gibbs and his family settled the area in the 1860s, and the town itself grew after the Collie to Narrogin railway was built, with the townsite gazetted in 1906; shops and services followed as a road board was set up. Wool growing and mixed farming have long supported the district, and a grain depot still stands east of town. The railway closed in the early 1990s, but farming and tourism keep Darkan going as the seat of the West Arthur shire.
Around the national middle
Darkan is more socio-economically advantaged than about 55% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 995, 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 Darkan 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Darkan 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
55/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (55/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
86/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $151 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 86% 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.
Darkan at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 371
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,321
- SEIFA score
- 995
- Local government area
- West Arthur
- Coordinates
- -33.3425, 116.7363
Map of Darkan
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Darkan
What it costs to live in Darkan and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $151
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $980
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 69%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 19%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Darkan demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Darkan demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Darkan 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 30% and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 67 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 32 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 75 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 114 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 86 | 23% |
Share of the 374 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 75 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 29 | 19% |
| Rented | 29 | 19% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 133 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 6 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 139 occupied private dwellings in Darkan.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,946
- Median weekly personal income
- $953
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 40 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 15 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 139 (46%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.7%
- Employed full-time
- 117
- Employed part-time
- 56
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.
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Common questions about Darkan
Is Darkan 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, Darkan rates 65/100 overall (Strong 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 Darkan?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Darkan was $151, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $980. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Darkan?
Darkan is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the West Arthur local government area.
What is the population of Darkan?
At the 2021 Census, Darkan had a population of about 371.
Is Darkan an advantaged area?
Darkan has an ABS SEIFA score of 995, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 55 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 55% of Australian suburbs.
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