South West, WA
cape-leeuwin · lighthouse · whale-watching · blackwood-river
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Drive to the coast
9 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
8 min
By road
Airport access
1h 12m
By road
Schools access
Limited
Average daytime temp
20.2°C
Rainfall
Dry
Augusta is a small coastal community with one of the strongest recent growth rates among the towns we cover. Around 1,460 people live here, up roughly 46% since 2016, yet the median age is 62, making it an unusually fast-growing but older town. By road, Perth is about 3 hours 30 minutes away by road, so residents need to treat the region itself as the centre of everyday life rather than relying on the capital.
Allow around 1 hour 10 minutes away and a major hospital about eight minutes to get to the airport, which gives useful healthcare access despite the distance from Perth. The climate runs cool by WA standards: daytime temperatures average close to 20°C, summers stay mild and winters are cool. Fixed-line internet supports standard home-based work and communication.
The growth rate is important because an increase of this scale can change demand and local routines quickly even when the absolute population remains small. Augusta still offers a narrow service and employment base compared with a regional city, and the older demographic is likely to shape the community.
That combination will appeal most to people who want a small, cool-climate south-west town and can live with limited local choice, while recognising that the area is attracting residents at a much faster rate than its quiet scale might initially suggest.
5 photos
Augusta is a strong fit for retirees, remote workers and people who want the coast to dominate their spare time without living in one of the South West’s busier tourism centres. It particularly suits walkers, fishers, boaters and people happy with a small community where daily life is slower and most major errands are planned rather than spontaneous.
The small population means limited local choice for shopping, work and specialist services. Perth is several hours away, so this is not a realistic commuter location. Tourism still affects the town seasonally, and anyone reliant on a broad professional job market may need remote work or an income that is not tied to the local economy.
Climb Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse
Tour Jewel Cave
Paddle the Blackwood River
Watch whales in Flinders Bay
Median house price
$1,050,000
No WA-wide median published
Sourced from REIWA (Real Estate Institute of Western Australia) · REIWA, 12 months ending August 2026
Healthcare access
Excellent
Shopping & everyday services
Moderate
Supermarket within 10km, limited other retail
Internet connection
Fixed line
Job market by industry
Trades — 12.3%
Largest share of local jobs
Employment figures cover this town's wider statistical region, not the town alone — you'll see the same figures for Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River and Bunbury.
The score ranks this region against other regions for the same occupation, not against other jobs here — a low score means it isn't a regional stronghold for that field, not that there are no vacancies. Counts online job advertisements, so trades and farm work hired by word of mouth are undercounted, and outside capital cities this is published at a regional level larger than one town.
Augusta (SAL 50038) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 44.4% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 9.6% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (66.8% of families against 23.5%). Lone-person households are more common than average (38% against 25.6%).
Population
1,463
Population growth
+45.5%
Augusta (SA2 501011001)
Median age
62 years
Labour force participation
39.2%
Growth is measured across the wider area named under the figure, which can be a different size to the town.
Share of total population in each band — rounding means these won't land on exactly 100%.
Couples are a share of total families; lone-person households are a share of total households — different bases, not one breakdown.
Median personal income
$541
Per week · ≈ $28,132/year
Median family income
$1,176
Per week
Median household income
$869
Per week
Personal is one person's income; family and household cover everyone living together — a single-income household will show a lower household figure than its highest earner's personal one. Personal income also covers every resident aged 15 and over, retirees included, so it reads low in a town with an older population even where household income is solid.
Owner-occupied
72.5%
Rented
21%
Born in Australia
70.1%
Born overseas
20.6%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.