Capel River WA 6271

Capel River sits 211 km from Perth CBD in Western Australia, around 2 hours 20 minutes by car. Census data records 136 residents with a median age of 52 and a median household income of $75,816 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 40% nationally. The locality fell 2.9% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $375 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,167. Capel River is characterised by no recorded flood exposure. Walkability is low.

This locality is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 136. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.

How do you rate the liveability in Capel River?

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Not enough data to score this locality.

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Short-Stay Rentals

No active Airbnb listings.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months.

Schools

No schools in this locality boundary.

Walkability

Capel River is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.

0
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km not measured
Schools within 1.5 km 0
Parks within 800 m 0
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Capel River.

22
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
60
Technology mix
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 55%
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 45%

NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.

Amenities

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
1 in locality
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
1 in locality
Childcare
None
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Capel: council population

The whole council area, not just Capel River · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
20,171
+2.1% in a year
Change
+418
people since 2024
Density
36
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+129
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+167
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+122
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
7/10
6/10 within WA
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
7/10
7/10 within WA
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
7/10
6/10 within WA
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Capel River is home to 136 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $76,000 a year, with unemployment at 7.9%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

136

2.9% since 2016

Median Age

52

13.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$75,816/yr

15.1% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$375/wk

546.6% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$2,167/mo

no change since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.5

4.2% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$41,080/yr

7.5% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

7.9%

102.6% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

23.4%

368.0% since 2016

Total Dwellings

47

21.7% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

89.1%

27.3% since 2016

Houses

76.6%

23.4% since 2016

Rental Stress

25.7%

655.9% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

34.3%

17.9% since 2016

Work From Home

24.1%

6.6% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 36 (76.6%)
Townhouses 6 (12.8%)
Flats / Apartments 5 (10.6%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 24 (52.2%)
Mortgage 17 (37.0%)
Renting 5 (10.9%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
78.7%
English Spoken at Home
93.4%
Employment Rate
63.6%
16.7% since 2016
Completed Year 12
47.1%

Occupations

Managers 17 (23.9%)
Professionals 11 (15.5%)
Clerical & Administrative 11 (15.5%)
Technicians & Trades 11 (15.5%)
Labourers 6 (8.5%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 6 (8.5%)
Sales 3 (4.2%)

Religion

Christianity 61 (44.9%)
No Religion 40 (29.4%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 9 (6.6%)
South Africa 5 (3.7%)
Canada 3 (2.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 7 (5.1%)
5-14 8 (5.9%)
15-19 9 (6.6%)
20-24 8 (5.9%)
25-34 11 (8.1%)
35-44 7 (5.1%)
45-54 22 (16.2%)
55-64 32 (23.5%)
65-74 17 (12.5%)
75-84 15 (11.0%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 12 (52.2%)
One Parent Families 7 (30.4%)
Lone Person 4 (17.4%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 37 (68.5%)
Worked from Home 13 (24.1%)
Bus 4 (7.4%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 26 (19.1%)
Bachelor Degree 19 (14.0%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 14 (10.3%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 5 (3.7%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 8 (17.4%)
2 cars 16 (34.8%)
3 cars 10 (21.7%)
4+ cars 14 (30.4%)

Council Rates

Capel
FY 2023-24

Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,343 a year through Capel based on 2023 figures.

Avg residential rate
$2,343/yr
Valuation basis
Gross Rental Value / Unimproved Value
GRV for urban, UV for rural/mining

Building Approvals: Capel

The whole council area, not just Capel River · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 226 new dwellings were approved across Capel. That mix is 174 houses and 52 units. Approvals are up 51.9% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
226dwellings
+51.9% YoY
Houses
174
detached dwellings
Units
52
townhouses + apartments

Climate & Setting

from Donnybrook, 17.6 km

Moderate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.

Elevation
73 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Distance to the ocean
17.7 km
Annual rainfall
851 mm
90 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
30.9°C
21 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
6.7°C
1 frost days ≤ 0°C

Elevation is the ground at the locality centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.

EV adoption

0.4%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.1 points this year

In postcode 6271, 13 of 3,702 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.3% (49 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.7%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.09%
2023
0.09%
2024
0.28%
2025
0.35%

Rooftop solar

69
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 5.3 kW each

In postcode 6271, 1,071 rooftop-solar systems totalling 5.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,551 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 46 went up in the last year.

Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
54
2020
72
2021
91
2022
73
2023
62
2024
78
2025
39
2026
35

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

$10,000 for new homes priced up to $800,000.

Cap is $800,000 SOUTH of the 26th parallel (which includes all of metropolitan Perth) and $1,000,000 NORTH of it. We store the southern figure because that is where almost every buyer is; the northern cap is higher, so the stored value never overstates eligibility. The southern cap rose from $750,000 on 7 May 2026 in the 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package. The same package moved the first home owner RATE OF DUTY thresholds, which is a different scheme and lives in the web repo's app/stamp_duty.py.

Verify eligibility with Department of Finance WA

Federal Electorate

Division of Forrest

Currently held by Ben Small Liberal

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Ben Small 47.8% 52.2% +1.9
2022 Nola Marino 45.7% 54.3% -10.3
2019 Nola Marino 35.4% 64.6% +2.0

Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.

State Electorate

Vasse District

Currently held by Libby Mettam Liberal Party

Next state election: 10 March 2029.

Year Winner Won with
2025 Libby Mettam LP 63.4%
2021 Libby Mettam LP 54.3%
2017 Libby Mettam LP 64.7%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Western Australian Electoral Commission.

Looking at a specific address in Capel River?

Every figure above is a locality average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.

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Nearby suburbs

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Common questions about Capel River

Is Capel River a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Capel River is low (17/100, ranked against other WA suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Capel River?

Capel River has a moderate recorded bushfire history (45/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). No mapped flood overlay applies. These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Capel River?

Capel River, WA had a population of 136 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Capel River, WA?

The postcode for Capel River, WA is 6271.

How far is Capel River from Perth?

Capel River is 211 km from Perth CBD by road, about 142 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Capel River?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Capel River was $75,816 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.

What is the median weekly rent in Capel River?

There are too few current rental listings in Capel River for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $375, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Capel River?

The median age of residents in Capel River was 52 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Capel River at risk of bushfire?

Capel River has a moderate recorded bushfire history (45/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the locality relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.

What is the weather like in Capel River?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Capel River, Donnybrook (17.6 km away), summer days average 30.9°C, winter nights 6.7°C, 851 mm of rain a year over 90 rainy days, and 21 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Capel River?

First-home buyers in WA may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $800,000. The grant is administered by Department of Finance WA; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.

What council does Capel River belong to?

Capel River sits within the Capel local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Capel River?

The average residential rates bill through Capel is $2,343 a year (2023). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Capel River?

Across Capel, 226 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 51.9% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.

Which federal electorate is Capel River in?

Capel River sits within the federal Division of Forrest, currently held by Ben Small (Liberal).

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Data freshness

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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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