Rottnest Island, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
More advantaged than the national average
Rottnest Island is more socio-economically advantaged than about 75% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1032, 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 Rottnest Island 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 Rottnest Island 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
75/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (75/100) 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 $113 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.
Rottnest Island at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 166
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $2,042
- SEIFA score
- 1032
- Local government area
- Cockburn
- Coordinates
- -32.0075, 115.5203
Map of Rottnest Island
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Rottnest Island
What it costs to live in Rottnest Island and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $113
- per week
- Owner-occupied
- 7%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 56%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Rottnest Island demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Rottnest Island demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Rottnest Island 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 47% and 47% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 10 | 7% |
| Youth (15–24) | 25 | 17% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 71 | 47% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 42 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3 | 2% |
Share of the 151 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 0 | 0% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 4 | 7% |
| Rented | 33 | 56% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 43 | 64% |
| Townhouses & semis | 12 | 18% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 67 occupied private dwellings in Rottnest Island.
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,340
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,112
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 66 (47%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 30 (21%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 100 (67%)
- Labour-force participation
- 83.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.6%
- Employed full-time
- 81
- Employed part-time
- 36
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 Rottnest Island
Is Rottnest Island 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, Rottnest Island rates 81/100 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 Rottnest Island?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Rottnest Island was $113. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Rottnest Island?
Rottnest Island is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Cockburn local government area.
What is the population of Rottnest Island?
At the 2021 Census, Rottnest Island had a population of about 166.
Is Rottnest Island an advantaged area?
Rottnest Island has an ABS SEIFA score of 1032, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 75 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 75% of Australian suburbs.
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