Norseman, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Norseman sits in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 726 kilometres east of Perth and 196 kilometres from the goldfields city of Kalgoorlie, on the traditional land of the Ngadju people. It marks the western end of the Eyre Highway and is the last major town before the long Nullarbor crossing to South Australia. Gold was found in the district from 1892, and according to local history the town and its reef took their name from a prospector's horse, Hardy Norseman, after a rich find in 1894; the townsite was gazetted the following year. The mine that grew here is described as Australia's longest continuously running gold operation. Gold, pastoralism and passing highway traffic still sustain the town, which serves as a gateway for travellers heading east across the continent.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Norseman is more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 823, 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 Norseman 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 Norseman 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
3/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (3/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
89/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $150 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 89% 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.
Norseman at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 562
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $771
- SEIFA score
- 823
- Local government area
- Dundas
- Coordinates
- -32.3161, 120.8777
Map of Norseman
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Norseman
What it costs to live in Norseman and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $150
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $600
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 58%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Norseman demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Norseman demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Norseman 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 36% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 59 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 52 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 110 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 200 | 36% |
| Seniors (65+) | 132 | 24% |
Share of the 553 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 109 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 28 | 12% |
| Rented | 58 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 235 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 242 occupied private dwellings in Norseman.
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,025
- Median weekly personal income
- $537
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 105 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 34 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 96 (17%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 124 (25%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.2%
- Employed full-time
- 121
- Employed part-time
- 56
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 Norseman
Is Norseman 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, Norseman rates 32/100 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 Norseman?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Norseman was $150, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $600. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Norseman?
Norseman is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Dundas local government area.
What is the population of Norseman?
At the 2021 Census, Norseman had a population of about 562.
Is Norseman an advantaged area?
Norseman has an ABS SEIFA score of 823, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 3 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of Australian suburbs.
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