Gosnells, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Gosnells lies about 20 kilometres south-east of central Perth and gives its name to the wider City of Gosnells, holding the council offices, library and railway station at its centre. The Noongar people lived across this country for thousands of years before Europeans arrived, and after 1829 farms began to spread along the Swan and Canning Rivers. In 1862 Charles Gosnell, a Londoner, bought the surrounding land from the Davis family. The gold rushes at Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie around 1890 drew newcomers to Western Australia and sharpened demand for land on Perth's fringe, and a group of developers acquired the holding — then known as Canning Location 16 — from Gosnell's estate. The name Gosnells was adopted for the district in 1907. The suburb sits on the Armadale railway line, with Albany Highway the main road link back towards the city, and shares the warm, dry-summer Mediterranean climate of the rest of Perth. Since 2000, public investment in new council offices, a library and a relocated station has helped revive the town centre. Those who have called Gosnells home include the cricketer Gerald Arthur and the gridiron player Mitch Wishnowsky.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Gosnells is more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 880, 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 Gosnells 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 3 components we can score for Gosnells 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
8/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (8/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
49/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $290 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 49% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 300 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- 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.
Gosnells at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 21,149
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,254
- SEIFA score
- 880
- Local government area
- Gosnells
- Coordinates
- -32.0876, 115.9950
Map of Gosnells
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Gosnells
What it costs to live in Gosnells and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $290
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 65%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 31%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Gosnells demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Gosnells demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Gosnells 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 young adults (25–44) at 28% and 39% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,312 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,481 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,832 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,781 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,753 | 18% |
Share of the 21,159 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,034 | 26% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3,037 | 39% |
| Rented | 2,470 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 6,378 | 81% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,240 | 16% |
| Flats & apartments | 239 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,885 occupied private dwellings in Gosnells.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,550
- Median weekly personal income
- $635
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 7,717 (39%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5,496 (28%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 819 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 7,270 (45%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.9%
- Employed full-time
- 5,210
- Employed part-time
- 2,876
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 Gosnells
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gosnells is January (average daytime high around 31.2°C) and the coolest is July (around 15.5°C). The area receives roughly 739 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31.2°C | 17.4°C | 23 mm |
| Feb | 30.6°C | 17.5°C | 24 mm |
| Mar | 27.8°C | 16.5°C | 43 mm |
| Apr | 23.3°C | 13.6°C | 45 mm |
| May | 19.2°C | 10.8°C | 81 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 9.2°C | 103 mm |
| Jul | 15.5°C | 8.7°C | 140 mm |
| Aug | 16.2°C | 8.3°C | 122 mm |
| Sep | 18.2°C | 9.2°C | 69 mm |
| Oct | 21.3°C | 10.9°C | 49 mm |
| Nov | 25.5°C | 13.3°C | 30 mm |
| Dec | 29.4°C | 15.8°C | 10 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Gosnells
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Parks & recreation
290+ nearbyMary Carroll Park · Robinson Park · Farnham Place Reserve · Swingler Park · Miranda Way Reserve · Jean Garvey Park
Shops & groceries
2+ nearbyFoodworks
Healthcare
4+ nearbyTandara Medical Group · Clinipath Pathology · Perth Radiological Clinic · Eudoria Street Centre
Schools & education
3+ nearbyAshburton Drive Primary School · Saint Munchin’s Catholic Primary School · Seaforth Primary School
Things to do
1+ nearbyShare your local knowledge of Gosnells
Lived here or spent time in Gosnells? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Gosnells
Is Gosnells a good place to live?
Gosnells is Perth’s seventh largest suburb at 21,149 people and scores 8/100 (SEIFA 880, bottom 8% nationally) — median household income of $1,254 a week, unemployment at 8.9%, and a high rental proportion mark it as one of Perth’s more disadvantaged established outer suburbs. It has a train station on the Armadale Line and is a genuine regional service hub for the south-eastern corridor — the Gosnells Town Centre, multiple schools, and the Mitchell Reserve wetlands are part of the picture that the SEIFA doesn’t show. The honest framing is that Gosnells has been a working-class suburb of Perth for generations and is genuinely affordable for families who need it to be.
What is the median rent in Gosnells?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Gosnells was $290, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Gosnells?
Gosnells is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Gosnells local government area.
What is the population of Gosnells?
At the 2021 Census, Gosnells had a population of about 21,149.
Is Gosnells an advantaged area?
Gosnells has an ABS SEIFA score of 880, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 8 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Gosnells?
Gosnells has average daytime highs of about 22.9°C and overnight lows of about 12.6°C, with roughly 739 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Gosnells?
Gosnells is one of the most populous suburbs in Western Australia — the 7th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 21,149 usual residents).
Where Gosnells ranks
Gosnells 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.