Wandering, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Wandering is a small town in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia, about 120 kilometres south-east of Perth just off the Albany Highway. Its unusual name has two suggested origins: it may come from an Aboriginal word 'wandooin', after the wandoo or white gum trees common in the district, or, as some accounts have it, recall an early sighting of wandering livestock. European settlers took up land from 1859, and the townsite was gazetted around 1911. The surrounding farms produce wool, lamb, beef and grain, with some timber and viticulture. Among the town's landmarks are the timber Wandering Agricultural Hall, dating from 1896, and a statue titled 'The Horses Came First'. It remains a quiet rural community in the upper Hotham valley.
Around the national middle
Wandering is more socio-economically advantaged than about 47% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 982, 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.
Wandering at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 391
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $1,571
- SEIFA score
- 982
- Coordinates
- -32.6548, 116.6862
Wandering demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Wandering 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 34%, 13% of homes are rented, and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 57 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 37 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 78 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 138 | 34% |
| Seniors (65+) | 97 | 24% |
Share of the 407 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 53 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 45 | 35% |
| Rented | 17 | 13% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 127 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 127 occupied private dwellings in Wandering.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,600
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,924
- Median weekly personal income
- $768
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 60 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 11 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 4 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 102 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.8%
- Employed full-time
- 96
- Employed part-time
- 38
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.
Common questions about Wandering
Where is Wandering?
Wandering is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Wandering?
At the 2021 Census, Wandering had a population of about 391.
Is Wandering an advantaged area?
Wandering has an ABS SEIFA score of 982, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 47 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 47% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Western Australia
More suburb guides in Western Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.