Leonora, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Leonora is a gold and nickel mining town in the northern Goldfields of Western Australia, about 237 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie and more than 800 kilometres from Perth. The nearby hill, Mount Leonora, was named by the explorer John Forrest in 1869 after his young niece, Frances Leonora Hardey. Gold was discovered in the area in 1895, the townsite was gazetted in 1897, and a railway arrived in 1903. Just to the south lies Gwalia, home to the historic Sons of Gwalia mine, which was once linked to Leonora by a tramway and brought the district international attention. Mining still anchors the local economy, alongside the pastoral stations of the surrounding arid country.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Leonora is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 897, 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 Leonora 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 Leonora 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
85/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $163 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 85% 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.
Leonora at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 657
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,455
- SEIFA score
- 897
- Local government area
- Leonora
- Coordinates
- -28.8414, 121.2688
Map of Leonora
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Leonora
What it costs to live in Leonora and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $163
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $714
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 45%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 38%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Leonora demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Leonora demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Leonora 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 32% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 99 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 65 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 213 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 205 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 90 | 13% |
Share of the 672 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 59 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 27 | 14% |
| Rented | 73 | 38% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 138 | 73% |
| Townhouses & semis | 12 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 7 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 190 occupied private dwellings in Leonora.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,671
- Median weekly personal income
- $946
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 116 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 110 (22%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 128 (19%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 180 (32%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.2%
- Employed full-time
- 206
- Employed part-time
- 38
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 Leonora
Is Leonora 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, Leonora rates 36/100 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 Leonora?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Leonora was $163, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $714. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Leonora?
Leonora is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Leonora local government area.
What is the population of Leonora?
At the 2021 Census, Leonora had a population of about 657.
Is Leonora an advantaged area?
Leonora has an ABS SEIFA score of 897, 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.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
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