Swanbourne, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Swanbourne is an affluent coastal suburb in Perth's western suburbs, set between Lake Claremont and the Indian Ocean within the City of Nedlands. Known for its older Federation homes on quiet streets, it was first called Osborne and took its present name in 1921. The name honours Swanbourne House in Buckinghamshire, the family seat of Thomas Fremantle and his brother Charles, the naval officer after whom the port city of Fremantle was named. The suburb runs down to Swanbourne Beach and the dunes, with the fairways of the Cottesloe Golf Club along its northern edge. At Allen Park stands Tom Collins House, the relocated former home that honours the author who wrote under that name, now a writers' centre. Scotch College, a long-established boys' school, is one of the suburb's largest employers.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Swanbourne is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1158, 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.
Swanbourne at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,592
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $3,418
- SEIFA score
- 1158
- Coordinates
- -31.9723, 115.7658
Swanbourne demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Swanbourne 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 26%, 25% of homes are rented, and 25% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,005 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 640 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 964 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,205 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 778 | 17% |
Share of the 4,592 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 623 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 469 | 31% |
| Rented | 383 | 25% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,235 | 81% |
| Townhouses & semis | 114 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 169 | 11% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,518 occupied private dwellings in Swanbourne.
- Median weekly rent
- $470
- Median monthly mortgage
- $3,504
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,179
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,362
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,115 (25%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 348 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 49 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,827 (85%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 1,321
- Employed part-time
- 854
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 Swanbourne
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Swanbourne is February (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is August (around 17.6°C). The area receives roughly 624 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8°C | 18.9°C | 23 mm |
| Feb | 29.9°C | 19°C | 20 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 18.1°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 24.2°C | 14.9°C | 42 mm |
| May | 20.7°C | 12°C | 78 mm |
| Jun | 18.2°C | 10.5°C | 99 mm |
| Jul | 17.2°C | 10.4°C | 112 mm |
| Aug | 17.6°C | 9.7°C | 97 mm |
| Sep | 19.1°C | 10.7°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 21.6°C | 12.5°C | 37 mm |
| Nov | 25°C | 14.9°C | 21 mm |
| Dec | 28.1°C | 17.4°C | 8 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Swanbourne
Where is Swanbourne?
Swanbourne is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Swanbourne?
At the 2021 Census, Swanbourne had a population of about 4,592.
Is Swanbourne an advantaged area?
Swanbourne has an ABS SEIFA score of 1158, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 99 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Swanbourne?
Swanbourne has average daytime highs of about 23.3°C and overnight lows of about 14.1°C, with roughly 624 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Swanbourne have high household incomes?
Swanbourne has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Western Australia — the 9th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,418 per week).
Where Swanbourne ranks
Swanbourne appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
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Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.