Harvey, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Harvey sits in the South West of Western Australia, about 140 kilometres south of Perth on the South Western Highway between Pinjarra and Bunbury, on the river that shares its name. The Pindjarup and Wardandi Noongar people are recorded as the original inhabitants of the district. European settlement spread slowly through the 1800s; a railway station opened in 1893, the place developed as a privately promoted town, and the townsite was gazetted in 1938. The name comes from the Harvey River, which Governor James Stirling named in 1829 and which is most likely linked to a British naval officer. Today Harvey is a centre of Western Australia's dairy country, also known for its oranges, beef and the recreational waters of the Harvey Dam.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Harvey is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 908, 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 Harvey 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 Harvey 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
14/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (14/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
52/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $280 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 52% 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.
Harvey at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,462
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,425
- SEIFA score
- 908
- Local government area
- Harvey
- Coordinates
- -33.0744, 115.9176
Map of Harvey
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Harvey
What it costs to live in Harvey and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $280
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,517
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 66%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 30%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Harvey demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Harvey demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Harvey 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 25% and 29% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 606 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 318 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 849 | 25% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 864 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 824 | 24% |
Share of the 3,461 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 492 | 37% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 383 | 29% |
| Rented | 397 | 30% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,216 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 83 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,308 occupied private dwellings in Harvey.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,832
- Median weekly personal income
- $742
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 942 (29%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 725 (22%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 128 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,098 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.8%
- Employed full-time
- 977
- Employed part-time
- 479
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 Harvey
Is Harvey 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, Harvey rates 27/100 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 Harvey?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Harvey was $280, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,517. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Harvey?
Harvey is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Harvey local government area.
What is the population of Harvey?
At the 2021 Census, Harvey had a population of about 3,462.
Is Harvey an advantaged area?
Harvey has an ABS SEIFA score of 908, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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