York, WA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, settled in 1835 in the Avon Valley about 98 kilometres east of Perth. It stands on Ballardong Noongar country, framed by Mount Brown and Mount Bakewell above the Avon River. The valley was named for its likeness to the English county of Yorkshire. The town grew first on wheat and wool, then on convict labour through the 1850s and 1860s, and prospered again in the gold-rush years of the late 1880s. That wealth left a grand main street: Avon Terrace is lined with colonial buildings, among them the imposing York Town Hall of 1911, and York is now one of the state's best-known heritage destinations.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
York is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 909, 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.
York at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,393
- Median age
- 56
- Median weekly household income
- $1,011
- SEIFA score
- 909
- Coordinates
- -31.8717, 116.7724
York demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile York 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 seniors (65+) at 37%, 19% of homes are rented, and 21% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 323 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 155 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 384 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 660 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 876 | 37% |
Share of the 2,398 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 456 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 310 | 31% |
| Rented | 192 | 19% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 948 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 39 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 6 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,011 occupied private dwellings in York.
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,348
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,403
- Median weekly personal income
- $554
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 456 (21%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 76 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 108 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 825 (41%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.5%
- Employed full-time
- 487
- Employed part-time
- 315
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 York
Where is York?
York is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia.
What is the population of York?
At the 2021 Census, York had a population of about 2,393.
Is York an advantaged area?
York has an ABS SEIFA score of 909, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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