New Norcia, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
New Norcia is a small settlement about 132 kilometres north of Perth, on the land of the Yued people in Western Australia's Wheatbelt. Founded in 1847 by the Spanish Benedictine monks Rosendo Salvado and Giuseppe Serra, it is the only monastic town in Australia. The community took its name from Norcia in Italy, the birthplace of Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order. New Norcia is still centred on its working monastery, and its striking Spanish-influenced buildings include the Abbey Church, which holds Salvado's tomb, and the former colleges of St Gertrude and St Ildephonsus, completed in 1908 and 1913. A European Space Agency tracking station stands a few kilometres south of the town.
More advantaged than the national average
New Norcia is more socio-economically advantaged than about 76% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1035, 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 New Norcia 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.
Very strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for New Norcia 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
76/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (76/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
93/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $106 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 93% 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.
New Norcia at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 57
- Median age
- 57
- Median weekly household income
- $1,125
- SEIFA score
- 1035
- Local government area
- Victoria Plains
- Coordinates
- -30.9750, 116.2130
Map of New Norcia
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in New Norcia
What it costs to live in New Norcia and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $106
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,650
- per month
- Rented
- 71%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the New Norcia demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
New Norcia demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile New Norcia 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 43% and 43% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4 | 9% |
| Youth (15–24) | 0 | 0% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 9 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 20 | 43% |
| Seniors (65+) | 14 | 30% |
Share of the 47 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 0 | 0% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 0 | 0% |
| Rented | 10 | 71% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 13 | 72% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 18 occupied private dwellings in New Norcia.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,375
- Median weekly personal income
- $675
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 19 (43%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 8 (18%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 25 (49%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.1%
- Employed full-time
- 14
- Employed part-time
- 8
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 New Norcia
Is New Norcia 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, New Norcia rates 82/100 overall (Very strong 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 New Norcia?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in New Norcia was $106, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,650. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is New Norcia?
New Norcia is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Victoria Plains local government area.
What is the population of New Norcia?
At the 2021 Census, New Norcia had a population of about 57.
Is New Norcia an advantaged area?
New Norcia has an ABS SEIFA score of 1035, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 76 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 76% of Australian suburbs.
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