Kambalda West, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kambalda West is one of two townsites that make up Kambalda, a mining town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 60km from Kalgoorlie and 616km east of Perth, on the western edge of Lake Lefroy, a vast salt pan. The district lies on the land of the Galaagu people. Gold was discovered here in 1896, but the original field was largely worked out and abandoned by 1907. The modern town was rebuilt from the 1960s after Western Mining Corporation opened what is described as Australia's first nickel mine, laying out Kambalda West around the shire offices and visitor centre. Nickel remains the mainstay, while Lake Lefroy is popular for land-sailing and the Red Hill lookout overlooks the salt lake.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Kambalda West is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 898, 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.
Kambalda West at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,666
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $2,217
- SEIFA score
- 898
- Coordinates
- -31.1717, 121.5857
Kambalda West demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kambalda West 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 28%, 40% of homes are rented, and 22% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 372 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 205 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 455 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 474 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 159 | 10% |
Share of the 1,665 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 139 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 200 | 34% |
| Rented | 234 | 40% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 509 | 87% |
| Townhouses & semis | 61 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 12 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 585 occupied private dwellings in Kambalda West.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,000
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,560
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,012
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 308 (22%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 77 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 107 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 393 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 58.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.3%
- Employed full-time
- 484
- Employed part-time
- 158
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.
Common questions about Kambalda West
Where is Kambalda West?
Kambalda West is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Kambalda West?
At the 2021 Census, Kambalda West had a population of about 1,666.
Is Kambalda West an advantaged area?
Kambalda West has an ABS SEIFA score of 898, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
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