Port Hedland, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Port Hedland is a major port town in the Pilbara region of north-western Western Australia, on the Indian Ocean coast about 1,320 kilometres north of Perth. It lies on the country of the Kariyarra and Nyamal peoples, who know the area as Marapikurrinya, a name variously linked to fresh-water soaks or to the hand-like shape of the tidal creeks. The harbour was named in 1863 after Peter Hedland, a mariner who recognised its potential, and the town was gazetted in 1896. From the 1960s the Pilbara iron-ore boom transformed Port Hedland, and its natural deep-water harbour now handles one of the largest tonnages of any port in the world. Iron-ore export, salt production, gas and other mining drive the economy.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Port Hedland is more socio-economically advantaged than about 91% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1075, 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 Port Hedland 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 Port Hedland 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
91/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (91/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
73/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $210 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 73% 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.
Port Hedland at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,081
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $3,434
- SEIFA score
- 1075
- Local government area
- Port Hedland
- Coordinates
- -20.3683, 118.6315
Map of Port Hedland
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Port Hedland
What it costs to live in Port Hedland and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $210
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,812
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 21%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 69%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Port Hedland demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Port Hedland demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Port Hedland 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 41% and 24% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 982 | 24% |
| Youth (15–24) | 329 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,680 | 41% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 932 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 149 | 4% |
Share of the 4,072 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 104 | 8% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 172 | 13% |
| Rented | 922 | 69% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 910 | 68% |
| Townhouses & semis | 163 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 245 | 18% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,347 occupied private dwellings in Port Hedland.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,971
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,859
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 849 (24%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 447 (13%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 301 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,608 (53%)
- Labour-force participation
- 74.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,703
- Employed part-time
- 360
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 Port Hedland
Is Port Hedland 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, Port Hedland rates 85/100 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 Port Hedland?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Port Hedland was $210, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,812. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Port Hedland?
Port Hedland is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Port Hedland local government area.
What is the population of Port Hedland?
At the 2021 Census, Port Hedland had a population of about 4,081.
Is Port Hedland an advantaged area?
Port Hedland has an ABS SEIFA score of 1075, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 91 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 91% of Australian suburbs.
Does Port Hedland have high household incomes?
Port Hedland has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Western Australia — the 7th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,434 per week).
Where Port Hedland ranks
Port Hedland appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.