Kununurra, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kununurra is the largest town in the East Kimberley, in the far north of Western Australia, more than 3,000 kilometres from Perth and about 830 kilometres from Darwin. It stands on the country of the Miriwoong people, and its name comes from the Miriwoong word Goonoonoorrang, meaning river. The town was built from 1961 to support the Ord River Irrigation Scheme, one of Australia's most ambitious farming projects. Dams completed in 1963 and 1972 created Lake Kununurra and the vast Lake Argyle, the largest artificial lake in the country. Irrigated farms around the town grow melons, mangoes and Indian sandalwood, while tourism draws visitors to the gorges, waterfalls and the rugged sandstone of nearby Mirima National Park.
Around the national middle
Kununurra is more socio-economically advantaged than about 45% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 979, 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 Kununurra 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Kununurra 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
45/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (45/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
55/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $266 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 55% 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.
Kununurra at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,494
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $2,091
- SEIFA score
- 979
- Local government area
- Wyndham-East Kimberley
- Coordinates
- -15.5615, 128.8278
Map of Kununurra
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Kununurra
What it costs to live in Kununurra and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $266
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,019
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 32%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 59%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Kununurra demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Kununurra demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kununurra 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 33% and 18% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,262 | 23% |
| Youth (15–24) | 585 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,805 | 33% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,439 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 404 | 7% |
Share of the 5,495 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 225 | 14% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 282 | 18% |
| Rented | 953 | 59% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,031 | 64% |
| Townhouses & semis | 225 | 14% |
| Flats & apartments | 117 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,606 occupied private dwellings in Kununurra.
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,364
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,153
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 810 (18%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 664 (15%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,366 (25%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,818 (44%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.1%
- Employed full-time
- 1,856
- Employed part-time
- 553
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 Kununurra
Is Kununurra 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, Kununurra rates 48/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Kununurra?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Kununurra was $266, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,019. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Kununurra?
Kununurra is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Wyndham-East Kimberley local government area.
What is the population of Kununurra?
At the 2021 Census, Kununurra had a population of about 5,494.
Is Kununurra an advantaged area?
Kununurra has an ABS SEIFA score of 979, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 45 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 45% of Australian suburbs.
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