Southern River, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Southern River is more socio-economically advantaged than about 84% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1051, 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 Southern River 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Southern River 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
84/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (84/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
15/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $420 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 15% 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.
Southern River at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 12,852
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $2,364
- SEIFA score
- 1051
- Local government area
- Gosnells
- Coordinates
- -32.1070, 115.9566
Map of Southern River
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Southern River
What it costs to live in Southern River and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $420
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,100
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 82%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 17%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Southern River demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Southern River demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Southern River 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 31% and 49% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,238 | 25% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,834 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,968 | 31% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,889 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 914 | 7% |
Share of the 12,843 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 756 | 20% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,391 | 62% |
| Rented | 642 | 17% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,753 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 94 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 10 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,862 occupied private dwellings in Southern River.
- Average household size
- 3.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,471
- Median weekly personal income
- $910
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 6,147 (49%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5,153 (42%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 122 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 6,224 (69%)
- Labour-force participation
- 72.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.1%
- Employed full-time
- 4,111
- Employed part-time
- 2,214
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 Southern River
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Southern River is January (average daytime high around 31.2°C) and the coolest is July (around 15.5°C). The area receives roughly 739 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31.2°C | 17.4°C | 23 mm |
| Feb | 30.6°C | 17.5°C | 24 mm |
| Mar | 27.8°C | 16.5°C | 43 mm |
| Apr | 23.3°C | 13.6°C | 45 mm |
| May | 19.2°C | 10.8°C | 81 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 9.2°C | 103 mm |
| Jul | 15.5°C | 8.7°C | 140 mm |
| Aug | 16.2°C | 8.3°C | 122 mm |
| Sep | 18.2°C | 9.2°C | 69 mm |
| Oct | 21.3°C | 10.9°C | 49 mm |
| Nov | 25.5°C | 13.3°C | 30 mm |
| Dec | 29.4°C | 15.8°C | 10 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Southern River
Is Southern River a good place to live?
Southern River scores 84/100 (SEIFA 1,051, top 16% nationally) and the income figure — $2,364 median household weekly — places it clearly in the well-off outer-growth bracket: these are dual-income families with mortgages in a suburb that has grown quickly on the Gosnells/Armadale fringe. Average household size of 3.3 people (above the national 2.5) and 49% born overseas confirm the young family, multicultural character. The suburb rides on the back of Armadale’s extraordinary 2023 price-growth story (CoreLogic #1 nationally) without being Armadale itself — its SEIFA is dramatically higher than Armadale proper (84 vs 3) which tells you the two suburbs, while neighbours, are demographically distinct.
What is the median rent in Southern River?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Southern River was $420, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,100. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Southern River?
Southern River is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Gosnells local government area.
What is the population of Southern River?
At the 2021 Census, Southern River had a population of about 12,852.
Is Southern River an advantaged area?
Southern River has an ABS SEIFA score of 1051, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 84 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 84% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Southern River?
Southern River has average daytime highs of about 22.9°C and overnight lows of about 12.6°C, with roughly 739 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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