Rockingham (WA), WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Rockingham is a coastal city on the southern edge of the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia, about 47 kilometres south of central Perth on the shores of Cockburn Sound. It lies on the Country of the Noongar people. The town takes its name from the Rockingham, a ship chartered by the settler Thomas Peel that arrived in 1830 and was later wrecked offshore, prompting nearby campers to adopt the name. Surveyed in 1847, Rockingham grew as a timber-exporting port until the opening of Fremantle's inner harbour drew trade away in the 1890s. It later reinvented itself as a seaside resort and is now a satellite city of Perth, known for its beaches, the dolphins and islands of Shoalwater Bay, and the naval base on nearby Garden Island.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Rockingham (WA) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, 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 Rockingham (WA) 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 Rockingham (WA) 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
17/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (17/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% 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.
Rockingham (WA) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 15,312
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,169
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Local government area
- Rockingham
- Coordinates
- -32.2799, 115.7354
Map of Rockingham (WA)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Rockingham (WA)
What it costs to live in Rockingham (WA) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,517
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 60%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 37%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Rockingham (WA) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Rockingham (WA) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Rockingham (WA) 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 28% and 37% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,949 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,584 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,335 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,277 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,154 | 27% |
Share of the 15,299 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,316 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,803 | 26% |
| Rented | 2,544 | 37% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,526 | 66% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,390 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 977 | 14% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 6,907 occupied private dwellings in Rockingham (WA).
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,661
- Median weekly personal income
- $671
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 5,316 (37%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,454 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 297 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 5,553 (43%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.1%
- Employed full-time
- 3,854
- Employed part-time
- 2,076
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.
Weather and climate in Rockingham (WA)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Rockingham (WA) is February (average daytime high around 29.2°C) and the coolest is August (around 17.4°C). The area receives roughly 628 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.1°C | 18.9°C | 18 mm |
| Feb | 29.2°C | 19.2°C | 24 mm |
| Mar | 27.5°C | 18.2°C | 35 mm |
| Apr | 23.7°C | 15.3°C | 41 mm |
| May | 20.2°C | 12.6°C | 79 mm |
| Jun | 18°C | 11.4°C | 103 mm |
| Jul | 17.1°C | 11.1°C | 121 mm |
| Aug | 17.4°C | 10.4°C | 98 mm |
| Sep | 18.8°C | 11.3°C | 48 mm |
| Oct | 21.2°C | 13°C | 37 mm |
| Nov | 24.6°C | 15.2°C | 17 mm |
| Dec | 27.4°C | 17.5°C | 7 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Rockingham (WA)
Is Rockingham (WA) a good place to live?
Rockingham’s Score of 17 (SEIFA 918, bottom 17% nationally) reflects a coastal suburb that skews older (median age 49, 55% of residents aged 45 or over) and less advantaged — rental proportion at 37%, unemployment at 8.1%, median household income of $1,169 — than Perth’s growth corridors. It is the centre of a coastal city (not just a suburb) with genuine lifestyle assets: Shoalwater Bay, the dolphin swims, Garden Island and HMAS Stirling nearby, a specific retiree-and-semi-retiree demographic that has chosen coast over career. The score is a socio-economic indicator; the suburb also has a distinct community character and destination appeal that draws a particular type of resident with specific priorities.
What is the median rent in Rockingham (WA)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Rockingham (WA) was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,517. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Rockingham (WA)?
Rockingham (WA) is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Rockingham local government area.
What is the population of Rockingham (WA)?
At the 2021 Census, Rockingham (WA) had a population of about 15,312.
Is Rockingham (WA) an advantaged area?
Rockingham (WA) has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Rockingham (WA)?
Rockingham (WA) has average daytime highs of about 22.8°C and overnight lows of about 14.5°C, with roughly 628 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Rockingham (WA)?
Rockingham (WA) is one of the most populous suburbs in Western Australia — the 15th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 15,312 usual residents).
Where Rockingham (WA) ranks
Rockingham (WA) appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Western Australia#15 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.