Greenbushes, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Greenbushes is a small town in the South West of Western Australia, about 250 kilometres south of Perth in the timber-and-orchard country near Bridgetown. It grew as a mining settlement after tin was discovered in 1886, with the townsite established by 1888 and a railway reaching it in 1898. Its name is said to come from the bright green native shrub that once stood out against the surrounding grey eucalypts. Mining has continued ever since: the Greenbushes mine south of town has produced lithium since 1985 and is now described as the largest lithium mine in the world. Timber milling, farming, vineyards and a handful of art galleries round out the local economy.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Greenbushes is more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 860, 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 Greenbushes 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 Greenbushes 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
5/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (5/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
78/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $200 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 78% 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.
Greenbushes at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 365
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $964
- SEIFA score
- 860
- Local government area
- Bridgetown-Greenbushes
- Coordinates
- -33.8513, 116.0437
Map of Greenbushes
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Greenbushes
What it costs to live in Greenbushes and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $200
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $959
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 72%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 28%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Greenbushes demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Greenbushes demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Greenbushes 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 seniors (65+) at 28% and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 58 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 36 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 69 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 100 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 101 | 28% |
Share of the 364 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 69 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 47 | 29% |
| Rented | 46 | 28% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 158 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 158 occupied private dwellings in Greenbushes.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,428
- Median weekly personal income
- $483
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 68 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 11 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 12 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 102 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.2%
- Employed full-time
- 85
- Employed part-time
- 33
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 Greenbushes
Is Greenbushes 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, Greenbushes rates 29/100 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 Greenbushes?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Greenbushes was $200, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $959. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Greenbushes?
Greenbushes is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Bridgetown-Greenbushes local government area.
What is the population of Greenbushes?
At the 2021 Census, Greenbushes had a population of about 365.
Is Greenbushes an advantaged area?
Greenbushes has an ABS SEIFA score of 860, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 5 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
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