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.
Is Kambalda West 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 Kambalda West 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
11/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (11/100) 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.
Kambalda West at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,666
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $2,217
- SEIFA score
- 898
- Local government area
- Coolgardie
- Coordinates
- -31.1717, 121.5857
Map of Kambalda West
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Kambalda West
What it costs to live in Kambalda West and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $200
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,000
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 58%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 40%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Kambalda West demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
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% 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.
- 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.
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Common questions about Kambalda West
Is Kambalda West 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, Kambalda West rates 33/100 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 Kambalda West?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Kambalda West was $200, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,000. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Kambalda West?
Kambalda West is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Coolgardie local government area.
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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