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.
Is York 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 York 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
14/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (14/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
57/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $260 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 57% 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.
York at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,393
- Median age
- 56
- Median weekly household income
- $1,011
- SEIFA score
- 909
- Local government area
- York
- Coordinates
- -31.8717, 116.7724
Map of York
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in York
What it costs to live in York and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $260
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,348
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 76%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 19%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the York demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
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% 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.
- 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.
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Common questions about York
Is York 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, York rates 28/100 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 York?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in York was $260, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,348. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is York?
York is a suburb of Western Australia, Australia, in the York local government area.
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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