Kalbarri, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kalbarri sits where the Murchison River meets the sea on Western Australia's Coral Coast, about 590 kilometres north of Perth. It takes its name from the Nanda people, the traditional owners of this coast, recognised in a 2018 native title determination; Kalbarri is said to have been both the name of a Nanda man and a word for an edible seed. The town is the gateway to Kalbarri National Park, where the Murchison carves deep red-rock gorges crossed by the famous Nature's Window and the cliff-edge Kalbarri Skywalk, and where the coast falls away in tall sandstone bluffs. Fishing, spring wildflowers, and easy river and ocean beaches round out its appeal.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Kalbarri is more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 925, 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 Kalbarri 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 Kalbarri 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
19/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (19/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
57/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $258 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 57% 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.
Kalbarri at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,478
- Median age
- 53
- Median weekly household income
- $1,122
- SEIFA score
- 925
- Local government area
- Northampton
- Coordinates
- -27.6833, 114.2020
Map of Kalbarri
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Kalbarri
What it costs to live in Kalbarri and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $258
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,600
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 67%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 27%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Kalbarri demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Kalbarri demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kalbarri 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 34% and 19% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 186 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 114 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 277 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 499 | 34% |
| Seniors (65+) | 411 | 28% |
Share of the 1,487 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 246 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 127 | 23% |
| Rented | 150 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 441 | 79% |
| Townhouses & semis | 72 | 13% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 558 occupied private dwellings in Kalbarri.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,427
- Median weekly personal income
- $640
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 246 (19%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 50 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 49 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 457 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.5%
- Employed full-time
- 302
- Employed part-time
- 249
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 Kalbarri
Is Kalbarri 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, Kalbarri rates 32/100 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 Kalbarri?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Kalbarri was $258, 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 Kalbarri?
Kalbarri is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Northampton local government area.
What is the population of Kalbarri?
At the 2021 Census, Kalbarri had a population of about 1,478.
Is Kalbarri an advantaged area?
Kalbarri has an ABS SEIFA score of 925, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 19 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
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