Lancelin, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lancelin is a coastal town in the Shire of Gingin in Western Australia, about 127 kilometres north of Perth and a short distance off the scenic Indian Ocean Drive. The townsite was gazetted in 1950 as Wangaree, said to be an Aboriginal word for fish, and was renamed in 1953 after P. J. Lancelin, a scientific writer attached to Nicolas Baudin's expedition of 1801. From a cluster of holiday shacks in the 1940s it grew into a fishing and tourist town. Lancelin is best known for its towering white sand dunes, popular for sandboarding and four-wheel driving, and for strong winds that draw windsurfers and kitesurfers to events such as the Lancelin Ocean Classic. Rock lobster fishing and tourism remain the mainstays of the local economy.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Lancelin is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 911, 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.
Lancelin at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 786
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $1,071
- SEIFA score
- 911
- Coordinates
- -31.0309, 115.3590
Lancelin demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lancelin 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 seniors (65+) at 30%, 33% of homes are rented, and 30% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 80 | 10% |
| Youth (15–24) | 56 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 185 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 225 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 235 | 30% |
Share of the 781 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 134 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 57 | 19% |
| Rented | 99 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 262 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 27 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 16 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 309 occupied private dwellings in Lancelin.
- Median weekly rent
- $253
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,483
- Median weekly personal income
- $733
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 210 (30%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 129 (18%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 16 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 271 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.4%
- Employed full-time
- 200
- Employed part-time
- 113
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 Lancelin
Where is Lancelin?
Lancelin is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Lancelin?
At the 2021 Census, Lancelin had a population of about 786.
Is Lancelin an advantaged area?
Lancelin has an ABS SEIFA score of 911, 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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