Walpole, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Walpole is a small town on the south coast of Western Australia, about 430 kilometres south of Perth, set among the towering tingle and karri forests of the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. It sits beside the Walpole Inlet, from which it takes its name; the inlet and river were named by Governor Stirling after a naval officer he had served with. The town's great drawcard is the Valley of the Giants, where a Tree Top Walk carries visitors on a long steel walkway high into the canopy of the giant tingles, among the few places these towering trees grow. The Bibbulmun Track, the state's long-distance walking trail, passes through the town on its way to Albany.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Walpole is more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 915, 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 Walpole 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 Walpole 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
16/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (16/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
69/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $221 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 69% 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.
Walpole at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 429
- Median age
- 59
- Median weekly household income
- $764
- SEIFA score
- 915
- Local government area
- Manjimup
- Coordinates
- -34.9711, 116.7588
Map of Walpole
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Walpole
What it costs to live in Walpole and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $221
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $999
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 72%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 25%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Walpole demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Walpole demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Walpole 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 38% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 41 | 10% |
| Youth (15–24) | 12 | 3% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 58 | 14% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 161 | 38% |
| Seniors (65+) | 155 | 36% |
Share of the 427 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 108 | 53% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 38 | 19% |
| Rented | 51 | 25% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 190 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 190 occupied private dwellings in Walpole.
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,037
- Median weekly personal income
- $490
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 93 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 17 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 12 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 154 (41%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.7%
- Employed full-time
- 72
- Employed part-time
- 74
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 Walpole
Is Walpole 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, Walpole rates 34/100 overall (Lower 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 Walpole?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Walpole was $221, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $999. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Walpole?
Walpole is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the Manjimup local government area.
What is the population of Walpole?
At the 2021 Census, Walpole had a population of about 429.
Is Walpole an advantaged area?
Walpole has an ABS SEIFA score of 915, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 16 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of Australian suburbs.
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