Gascoyne, WA
shark-bay · dolphins · stromatolites · remote-coastal
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Drive to the coast
5 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
3h 22m
By road
Airport access
12 min
By road
Schools access
Moderate
Average daytime temp
27.0°C
Rainfall
Very dry
Denham is a very small coastal community of about 850 people with strong population growth of roughly 23% since 2016. The median age is 48, so the town is neither particularly young nor heavily retirement-led. Perth is almost nine hours away by road, which makes the local region the only realistic centre of everyday life.
The airport is close at around 12 minutes, but healthcare is a major weakness: the nearest major hospital is more than three hours away. Daytime temperatures average about 27°C, with hot summers, mild winters and very low rainfall. Remote-work connectivity is helped by fixed-line internet, giving residents reliable digital connectivity despite the physical isolation.
The recent growth rate is important, but it does not remove the practical reality of a town with fewer than 1,000 people and very distant major medical care. Households considering Denham need to think carefully about health needs, emergency planning and the limited breadth of local employment and services.
People looking for a remote coastal community and can build their lives around local routines and air access. are likely to understand the appeal. For anyone needing frequent specialist treatment, the hospital distance is likely to outweigh the convenience of the nearby airport.
26 photos
Denham is for people who want a genuinely remote marine lifestyle: tourism workers, fishers, retirees, nature lovers and self-directed remote workers who can function with a very small service base. It suits people who see Shark Bay’s water and wildlife as a reason to reorganise their life, not simply as scenery around an otherwise conventional town.
Healthcare is the major practical weakness: major-hospital access is over three hours away. Perth is nearly nine hours by road, so flights and careful planning become part of normal life. The local job market is narrow, and a small permanent population means limited choice in retail, education and specialist services.
See wild dolphins at Monkey Mia
Four-wheel-drive through Francois Peron National Park
View Hamelin Pool stromatolites
Walk Shell Beach
Median house price
$557,500
No WA-wide median published
Sourced from REIWA (Real Estate Institute of Western Australia) · REIWA, 12 months ending August 2026
Healthcare access
Very limited
Shopping & everyday services
Moderate
Supermarket within 10km, limited other retail
Internet connection
Fixed line
Job market by industry
Trades — 14.6%
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 Geraldton, Kalbarri, Esperance, Hopetoun, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Exmouth, Coral Bay and Carnarvon.
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.
Denham (SAL 50403) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 24.5% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 13.2% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (65.3% of families against 26%), and fewer dwellings are owner-occupied than nationally (53.5% against 65.9%), with 8.1% neither owned nor rented in the usual sense. Lone-person households are more common than average (40.3% against 25.6%).
Population
849
Population growth
+22.9%
Exmouth (SA2 511021277)
Median age
48 years
Labour force participation
53.5%
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
$754
Per week · ≈ $39,208/year
Median family income
$1,449
Per week
Median household income
$1,021
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
53.5%
Rented
38.4%
Born in Australia
61.7%
Born overseas
22.5%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.