Margaret River WA 6285
Margaret River is a town in Western Australia, 274 km from Perth CBD, around 3 hours 10 minutes by car. Population is 8,918; the median age is 39 and the median household income is $85,280 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 16.5% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $380 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,694. Of 5 schools within the town boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Margaret River a good town?
Margaret River scores a C (39/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit.
Mixed results
5 schools · 1 above peer schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 4/100 · 274.1 km · 188 min drive to Perth
Median available
Median $986K
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 56/100 · Crime 44/100 · Flood 22/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 39 · 8,918 residents
Liveability Rating
39 / 100 · Ranked #366 in WAEach bar is Margaret River's rank among WA suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Margaret River?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
39 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataMargaret River's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $986,000, roughly 11% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$986,500
Based on 176 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 37 days — median across 83 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 14 sales $695K
- 3 bed 66 sales $982K
- 4 bed 79 sales $980K
- 5 bed 9 sales $1.36M
Units
$672,500
Based on 18 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 34 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $660K
- 3 bed 7 sales $740K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Margaret River are currently listed at around $1.05 million on average. Based on 93 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.05M
93 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$685K
9 units listed in the last 6 months.
102 of the suburb's 3,076 dwellings (3.3%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Margaret River rent for around $790 a week on average, based on 52 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$790/wk
52 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$650/wk
4 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
56 rentals advertised against an estimated 846 rented homes (6.6%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- All rentals
- $750/wk
- 54 bonds
- +36% 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 202599 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 30% of its income on the median rent in postcode 6285.
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$790/week ($41,000 a year) on a $1.05 million median
$650/week ($34,000 a year) on a $685,000 median
Based on a small sample (4 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
447 active Airbnb listings: 405 whole homes and 42 rooms. Whole homes are about 10.6% of the town'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.
Schools
Five schools serve Margaret River, and results are mixed — some outperforming peer-suburb schools, some below. Margaret River Montessori School - Margaret River campus leads the pack.
- • 2,503 students across 5 schools (avg 501)
- • Sectors: 3 Government, 1 Independent, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 1013-1094, median 1048 (above the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Margaret River Senior High School (1,196 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Margaret River is very car-dependent on foot — at 4/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 3 supermarkets, 6 parks and 23 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
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 Margaret River.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 26%
- Premises covered
- 4,653
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
Augusta Margaret River: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 21 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 7 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Margaret River is home to about 8,900 residents, with a median age of 39, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $85,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.1%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
8,918
Median Age
39
Median Household Income
$85,280/yr
Census Median Rent
$380/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,694/mo
Avg Household Size
2.6
Median Personal Income
$43,628/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.1%
Unoccupied Dwellings
23.8%
Total Dwellings
3,076
Owner-Occupier Rate
72.5%
Houses
91.8%
Rental Stress
23.2%
Mortgage Stress
23.8%
Work From Home
12.4%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
73 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 7 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 817 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 67.4%
- English Spoken at Home
- 82.8%
- Employment Rate
- 65%
- Completed Year 12
- 45.7%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
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.
324 residents (3.6%) 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.
12.4% of residents (1,036) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Perth (898).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 8,352 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.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
2% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (88 of 4,538).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 3,861 people work here; 4,538 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.9 per resident). At least 12% of employed residents must work outside the town.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $3,281 a year through Augusta Margaret River based on 2023 figures.
Building Approvals: Augusta Margaret River
In the year to August 2026, 437 new dwellings were approved across Augusta Margaret River. That mix is 405 houses and 32 units. Approvals are up 75.6% on the same period a year earlier.
Climate & Setting
from Busselton Shire, 43.5 kmModerate rainfall.
- Elevation
- 99 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 6.1 km
- Annual rainfall
- 624 mm
- 68 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the town 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
6 facilities within 5 km- 0.9 km
- 1.4 kmWine and Other Alcoholic Beverage ManufacturingTop reported: Ethanol · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 1.5 kmWine and Other Alcoholic Beverage ManufacturingTop reported: Ethanol · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 3.1 kmWine and Other Alcoholic Beverage ManufacturingTop reported: Ethanol · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 4.2 kmWine and Other Alcoholic Beverage ManufacturingTop reported: Ethanol · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
EV adoption
In postcode 6285, 81 of 10,538 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.7% (181 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 6285, 2,087 rooftop-solar systems totalling 13.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 4,689 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 171 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.
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.
Mortgage repayments
1 mortgage broker is registered in this town.
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.
At $986,500 this is $186,500 above the $800,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Department of Finance WA.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
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
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 town's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Bevan Eatts The Nationals WA
Next state election: 10 March 2029.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bevan Eatts NP | 51.8% |
| 2021 | Jane Kelsbie ALP | 51.3% |
| 2017 | Terry Redman NP | 63.4% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2023, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Western Australian Electoral Commission.
Looking at a specific address in Margaret River?
Every figure above is a town 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.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 8,918 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Margaret River to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other WA suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Margaret River
Is Margaret River a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Margaret River is moderate (44/100, ranked against other WA suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Margaret River?
Margaret River has a moderate recorded bushfire history (56/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (22/100). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Margaret River a good place to live?
Margaret River has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (39/100), 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 Margaret River?
Margaret River, WA had a population of 8,918 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Margaret River, WA?
The postcode for Margaret River, WA is 6285.
How far is Margaret River from Perth?
Margaret River is 274 km from Perth CBD by road, about 188 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Margaret River?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Margaret River was $85,280 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 Margaret River?
The median advertised rent in Margaret River is $790 a week for houses (52 listings) and $650 a week for units (4 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Margaret River?
The median age of residents in Margaret River was 39 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Margaret River at risk of bushfire?
Margaret River has a moderate recorded bushfire history (56/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town 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 Margaret River?
There are 5 schools inside the Margaret River boundary: 1 above, 2 at, and 2 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Margaret River walkable?
Margaret River scores 4/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. 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 Margaret River?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Margaret River, Busselton Shire (43.5 km away), 624 mm of rain a year over 68 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Margaret 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 Margaret River belong to?
Margaret River sits within the Augusta Margaret River local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Margaret River?
The average residential rates bill through Augusta Margaret River is $3,281 a year (2023). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Margaret River?
Across Augusta Margaret River, 437 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 75.6% 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 Margaret River in?
Margaret River sits within the federal Division of Forrest, currently held by Ben Small (Liberal).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2023–24
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2025
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
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.