Dongara, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Dongara is a coastal town in the Mid West of Western Australia, set at the mouth of the Irwin River about 350 kilometres north of Perth and a short distance south of Geraldton. With its twin settlement of Port Denison it forms a single seaside community whose name is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word for the river estuary. European settlement began in 1853 around the harbour, and a townsite was surveyed in 1871. Long a wheat and sheep district, Dongara is also a busy fishing port, well known for its rock-lobster boats, and natural gas has been produced from the surrounding field since the 1960s. The old steam flour mill survives as a reminder of its colonial past.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Dongara is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, 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 Dongara 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Dongara 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
17/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (17/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
55/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $268 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 55% 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.
Dongara at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,393
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,092
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Local government area
- Irwin
- Coordinates
- -29.2427, 114.9267
Map of Dongara
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Dongara
What it costs to live in Dongara and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $268
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,600
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Dongara demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Dongara demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Dongara 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 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 223 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 111 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 253 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 421 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 388 | 28% |
Share of the 1,396 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 244 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 151 | 28% |
| Rented | 129 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 482 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 25 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 26 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 542 occupied private dwellings in Dongara.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,600
- Median weekly personal income
- $600
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 202 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 25 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 69 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 377 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.3%
- Employed full-time
- 299
- Employed part-time
- 214
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.
Share your local knowledge of Dongara
Lived here or spent time in Dongara? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Dongara
Is Dongara 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, Dongara rates 30/100 overall (Lower 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 Dongara?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Dongara was $268, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,600. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Dongara?
Dongara is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Irwin local government area.
What is the population of Dongara?
At the 2021 Census, Dongara had a population of about 1,393.
Is Dongara an advantaged area?
Dongara has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.