Sandstone, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Sandstone is a small town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, about 661 kilometres north of Perth, and the seat of the Shire of Sandstone. Gold drew the first settlers after the Adelaide mine struck a reef on New Year's Day in 1903, pegged by George Dent and the brothers Wilton and Theodore Hack; the townsite was gazetted in 1906. A branch railway reached the town from Mount Magnet in 1910, and a state battery treated ore here from 1904 until 1982. Three kilometres south, a natural rock arch known as London Bridge anchors the Sandstone Heritage Trail, and the brick-built National Hotel of 1909 is the last of the town's original hotels. The town also inspired Randolph Stow's 1963 novel 'Tourmaline'.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Sandstone is more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 906, 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 Sandstone 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Sandstone 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
13/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (13/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
98/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $70 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 98% 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.
Sandstone at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 109
- Median age
- 60
- Median weekly household income
- $949
- SEIFA score
- 906
- Local government area
- Sandstone
- Coordinates
- -28.3027, 118.9849
Map of Sandstone
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Sandstone
What it costs to live in Sandstone and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $70
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,517
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 57%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 8%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Sandstone demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Sandstone demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Sandstone 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 41% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 0 | 0% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4 | 4% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 20 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 42 | 41% |
| Seniors (65+) | 37 | 36% |
Share of the 103 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 18 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3 | 8% |
| Rented | 3 | 8% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 34 | 77% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 44 occupied private dwellings in Sandstone.
- Average household size
- 1.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,833
- Median weekly personal income
- $675
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 16 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 29 (26%)
- Labour-force participation
- 41.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.7%
- Employed full-time
- 23
- Employed part-time
- 14
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.
Share your local knowledge of Sandstone
Lived here or spent time in Sandstone? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Sandstone
Is Sandstone 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, Sandstone rates 41/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Sandstone?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Sandstone was $70, 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 Sandstone?
Sandstone is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Sandstone local government area.
What is the population of Sandstone?
At the 2021 Census, Sandstone had a population of about 109.
Is Sandstone an advantaged area?
Sandstone has an ABS SEIFA score of 906, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 13 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.