Esperance WA 6450

Located in Western Australia, Esperance sits 697 km from Perth CBD, around 8 hours by car. The suburb has 2,080 residents, a median age of 52, and a median household income of $56,524 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The suburb fell 3.0% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $235 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,500. Esperance is characterised by high crime risk and no recorded flood exposure. All 1 school within the suburb boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is high.

Is Esperance a good suburb?

Esperance scores a C (31/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, weaker on safety and community.

Schools

Mixed results

1 school · 1 above peer schools

Transit

Very walkable

Walkability 78/100 · 697.3 km · 479 min drive to Perth

Prices

Median available

Median $605K

Safety

High crime risk

Fire 59/100 · Crime 88/100 · Flood 0/100

Community

Highly disadvantaged

SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 52 · 2,080 residents

C

Liveability Rating

31 / 100 · Ranked #438 in WA

Each bar is Esperance's rank among WA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
20
Bushfire Moderate · Crime High · Flood None
Socio-economic
22
Disadvantaged
Walkability
81
Walkable
CBD access
9
697.3 km · 479 min drive to Perth
How it's calculated: Safety rank 20 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 22 × 25% + Walkability rank 81 × 15% + CBD access rank 9 × 10% = 31 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.
Additional risks: Coastal erosion Low

How do you rate the liveability in Esperance?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

31 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

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What applies here? (optional)

One rating per person. You can change yours at any time.

Median House Price

Public listings data

Esperance's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $605,000, roughly 20% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$605,000

last 6 quarters

21% above its 3 neighbours (median $500,000)

↑ +20.2% year-on-year

Based on 59 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 39 days — median across 17 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 8 sales $625K
  • 3 bed 31 sales $536K
  • 4 bed 8 sales $762K
  • 5 bed 6 sales $675K

Units

$371,000

last 2 quarters
↓ −13.9% year-on-year

Based on 14 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 5 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 6 sales $386K

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Esperance are currently listed at around $630,000 on average. Based on 9 houses listed in the past six months.

Houses

$630K

↓ −9.3% vs previous 6 months from $695K
Since 2022: $416K → $648K (+56%)

9 houses listed in the last 6 months.

Units

$525K

4 units listed in the last 6 months.

13 of the suburb's 910 dwellings (1.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Esperance rent for around $575 a week on average, based on 5 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$575/wk

5 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

6 rentals advertised against an estimated 448 rented homes (1.3%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
All rentals
$550/wk
15 bonds
+29% since 2023

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. WA's bond data does not record bedrooms or dwelling type, so it covers all rentals together.Change since 2023 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

147 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 20% of its income on the median rent in postcode 6450.

SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.

Gross rental yield

Indicative
House
4.7% above the typical range

$575/week ($30,000 a year) on a $630,000 median

Based on a small sample (5 listings) — indicative only.

Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Short-Stay Rentals

49 active Airbnb listings: 49 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 4.2% of the suburb's homes.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.

Coastal Erosion

57
monitoring points
within 5 km
18
actively eroding
> 0.1 m/yr retreat
-0.35
worst rate (m/yr)
Significant
463 m
nearest coastline
monitoring point

Shoreline Change Summary

1988–2025
Stable or accreting 48 (84%)
Moderate erosion (0.1–0.3 m/yr) 7 (12%)
Significant erosion (> 0.3 m/yr) 2 (4%)

Nearest Eroding Coastline

Distance
463 m
Rate
-0.35 m/yr
Net Movement
-17.6 m
Certainty
good

Data Quality

High certainty: 57 of 57 points (100%)

Schools

One school serve Esperance, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Esperance Primary School leads the pack.

62
out of 100
Average
1 school in this suburb
1 above similar
  • • 453 students in one school (avg 453)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 453 students
ICSEA 1010 (higher than 51% of Australian schools) · 15% top-SEA students
Above similar

Walkability

Esperance is very walkable on foot — at 78/100, most daily errands can be done on foot. Within the suburb there are 2 supermarkets, 8 parks and 12 cafes to anchor that walking radius.

78
out of 100
Very Walkable
Top 6% in WA
Public Transport within 1 km 67
Schools within 1.5 km 100
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 80
GPs within 1 km 100
Pharmacies within 1 km 80
Childcare within 1 km 60
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Esperance.

30
out of 100
Bottom 8% in WA
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
0.8 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
11.0 arrivals/hr
Saturday
0.1 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
300 min
Span of service
11.5 hours

Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Esperance.

45
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
1%
Premises covered
1,741
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 99%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 1%

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
2 in suburb
Shopping Centres
1 in suburb
Cafes & Restaurants
12 in suburb
Parks & Reserves
8 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
3 in suburb
Beaches
None
Waterways
None
Childcare
1 in suburb
GPs
5 in suburb
Pharmacies
2 in suburb
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
1 in suburb
Banks & Bank@Post
5 in suburb
Fuel Stations
2 in suburb
EV Chargers
4 in suburb
Pubs & Bars
4 in suburb
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
2 in suburb

Esperance: council population

The whole council area, not just Esperance · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
14,663
+0.3% in a year
Change
+45
people since 2024
Density
0.3
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+58
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-60
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+47
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb'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
2/10
2/10 within WA
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
1/10
1/10 within WA
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
3/10
3/10 within WA
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 6 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.

Esperance is home to about 2,100 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $57,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.2%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

2,080

3.0% since 2016

Median Age

52

4.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$56,524/yr

17.0% since 2016
Bottom 13% in WA

Census Median Rent

$235/wk

6.8% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,500/mo

5.2% since 2016

Avg Household Size

1.9

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$36,192/yr

17.8% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

3.2%

34.7% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

27.8%

5.3% since 2016

Total Dwellings

910

2.2% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

50.8%

4.5% since 2016

Houses

62.9%

1.6% since 2016

Rental Stress

21.6%

8.9% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

31.8%

19.1% since 2016

Work From Home

6.3%

80.0% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 572 (62.9%)
Townhouses 252 (27.7%)
Flats / Apartments 86 (9.5%)

Property Ownership

Renting 413 (49.2%)
Owned Outright 280 (33.3%)
Mortgage 147 (17.5%)
Of those rentals, social housing 120 (29.1%)

79 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 41 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 413 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
71.1%
English Spoken at Home
84.3%
Employment Rate
47.6%
7.2% since 2016
Completed Year 12
33.4%

Occupations

Professionals 140 (16.4%)
Technicians & Trades 134 (15.7%)
Managers 117 (13.7%)
Labourers 116 (13.6%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 94 (11.0%)
Clerical & Administrative 92 (10.7%)
Community & Personal Service 92 (10.7%)
Sales 64 (7.5%)

Religion

Christianity 891 (42.8%)
No Religion 883 (42.5%)
Buddhism 29 (1.4%)
Islam 10 (0.5%)
Hinduism 3 (0.1%)
Other Religions 3 (0.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 104 (5.0%)
New Zealand 70 (3.4%)
South Africa 33 (1.6%)
Germany 18 (0.9%)
Philippines 16 (0.8%)
Scotland 16 (0.8%)
Thailand 12 (0.6%)
Vietnam 11 (0.5%)

When They Arrived

Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.

2016-2021 60 (2.9%)
2011-2015 31 (1.5%)
2001-2010 66 (3.2%)
1991-2000 41 (2.0%)
1981-1990 40 (1.9%)
Before 1981 116 (5.6%)

60 residents (2.9%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.

Where New Residents Came From

Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.

5.8% of residents (117) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Perth (99).

Overseas 70 (3.5%)
Perth - South West 33 (1.6%)
Western Australia - Wheat Belt 27 (1.4%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,000 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.

Languages Spoken at Home

Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.

Sinhalese 7 (0.3%)
German 7 (0.3%)
Vietnamese 6 (0.3%)
Thai 6 (0.3%)
Russian 6 (0.3%)
Mandarin 5 (0.2%)
Cantonese 4 (0.2%)
Hindi 4 (0.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 80 (3.8%)
5-14 199 (9.6%)
15-19 93 (4.5%)
20-24 86 (4.1%)
25-34 249 (12.0%)
35-44 198 (9.5%)
45-54 204 (9.8%)
55-64 308 (14.8%)
65-74 247 (11.9%)
75-84 265 (12.7%)
85+ 154 (7.4%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 445 (63.8%)
Couple Families 137 (19.7%)
One Parent Families 78 (11.2%)
Group Household 28 (4.0%)
Other Families 9 (1.3%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 558 (77.7%)
Walked Only 60 (8.4%)
Worked from Home 45 (6.3%)
Car (passenger) 36 (5.0%)
Bicycle 19 (2.6%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 321 (15.4%)
Bachelor Degree 156 (7.5%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 118 (5.7%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 32 (1.5%)
Postgraduate Degree 25 (1.2%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 117 (13.2%)
1 car 399 (44.9%)
2 cars 263 (29.6%)
3 cars 71 (8.0%)
4+ cars 36 (4.0%)

Council Rates

Esperance
FY 2023-24

Households face an average residential rates bill of $4,175 a year through Esperance based on 2023 figures.

Avg residential rate
$4,175/yr
Valuation basis
Gross Rental Value / Unimproved Value
GRV for urban, UV for rural/mining

Building Approvals: Esperance

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

In the year to August 2026, 55 new dwellings were approved across Esperance. That mix is 41 houses and 14 units. Approvals are down 11.1% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
55dwellings
-11.1% YoY
Houses
41
detached dwellings
Units
14
townhouses + apartments

Climate & Setting

from Esperance, 3.4 km

Moderate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.

Elevation
13 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
462 m
511 m to a named beach
Annual rainfall
606 mm
87 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
25.8°C
11 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
9.0°C
0 frost days ≤ 0°C

Elevation is the ground at the suburb 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.

Industrial Emissions Nearby

7 facilities within 5 km

EV adoption

0.1%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.0 points this year
Bottom 7% in WA

In postcode 6450, 18 of 13,104 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.8% (238 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.0%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.02%
2023
0.02%
2024
0.10%
2025
0.14%

Rooftop solar

22
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.8 kW each

In postcode 6450, 1,299 rooftop-solar systems totalling 8.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,824 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 53 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
77
2020
175
2021
75
2022
94
2023
24
2024
146
2025
132
2026
25

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

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$3,155
Loan amount
$484,000
Total interest over 30 years
$651,914

1 mortgage broker is registered in this suburb, 3 across postcode 6450.

Deposit
$121,000
Stamp duty
$22,752
Cash needed at settlement
$143,752

Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with RevenueWA

The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $800,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Department of Finance WA.

Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of O'connor

Currently held by Rick Wilson Liberal

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Rick Wilson 36.7% 63.3% -6.6
2022 Rick Wilson 43.0% 57.0% -8.4
2019 Rick Wilson 35.5% 64.5% -0.6

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

State Electorate

Roe District

Currently held by Peter Rundle The Nationals WA

Next state election: 10 March 2029.

Year Winner Won with
2025 Peter Rundle NP 75.1%
2021 Peter Rundle NP 61.1%
2017 Peter Rundle NP 64.4%

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

Looking at a specific address in Esperance?

Every figure above is a suburb 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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Common questions about Esperance

Is Esperance a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Esperance is high (88/100, ranked against other WA suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.

What natural hazards affect Esperance?

Esperance has a moderate recorded bushfire history (59/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). No mapped flood overlay applies. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

Is Esperance a good place to live?

Esperance has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (31/100), ranked against other WA suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.

What is the population of Esperance?

Esperance, WA had a population of 2,080 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Esperance, WA?

The postcode for Esperance, WA is 6450.

How far is Esperance from Perth?

Esperance is 697 km from Perth CBD by road, about 479 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Esperance?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Esperance was $56,524 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 Esperance?

The median advertised rent in Esperance is $575 a week for houses (5 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Esperance?

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

Is Esperance at risk of bushfire?

Esperance has a moderate recorded bushfire history (59/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb 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.

How are the schools in Esperance?

There is 1 school inside the Esperance boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Esperance walkable?

Esperance scores 78/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.

What is the weather like in Esperance?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Esperance, Esperance (3.4 km away), summer days average 25.8°C, winter nights 9°C, 606 mm of rain a year over 87 rainy days, and 11 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Esperance?

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 Esperance belong to?

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

How much are council rates in Esperance?

The average residential rates bill through Esperance is $4,175 a year (2023). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Esperance?

Across Esperance, 55 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 11.1% 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 Esperance in?

Esperance sits within the federal Division of O'connor, currently held by Rick Wilson (Liberal).

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Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.

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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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