South West, WA
geographe-bay · cape-naturaliste · polished · beachy
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Drive to the coast
3 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
23 min
By road
Airport access
34 min
By road
Schools access
Good
Average daytime temp
22.1°C
Rainfall
Dry
Dunsborough is one of the faster-growing south-west communities we cover, with a population of about 6,400 and growth of roughly 31% since 2016. The median age is 41, noticeably younger than many nearby coastal towns, which points to a more mixed and active resident base. Perth is just under three hours away by road, so the town sits well outside normal metropolitan commuting.
The airport is about 35 minutes away and a major hospital roughly 23 minutes, providing reasonable regional access without making services immediate. Daytime temperatures average about 22°C; summers are mild, winters are cool, and fixed-line internet supports reliable home working. The growth rate is the clearest sign of current change: a 31% increase over less than a decade is substantial for a town of this size and likely to be visible in demand for housing, roads and services.
Even with that expansion, Dunsborough remains a small regional community rather than a city. It suits people comfortable with a growing local centre that has to meet most everyday needs itself, and who can accept that Perth trips require planning despite the town’s popularity and increasing scale.
17 photos
Dunsborough suits people with the budget to prioritise lifestyle: families, professionals working remotely, business owners, surfers and semi-retirees who want beaches, cafés and outdoor recreation in a polished small-town setting. It is less suited to movers chasing cheap regional housing and more suited to those who would use the coast and Cape Naturaliste area constantly.
Popularity is the downside. Holiday periods bring traffic and visitors, housing is shaped by strong lifestyle demand, and the town can feel very different in peak season. The local economy is also closely connected to tourism and hospitality, so professional opportunities outside those sectors may depend on remote work or commuting.
Swim at Meelup Beach
Walk the Cape Naturaliste headland
Watch sunset at Sugarloaf Rock
Visit Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse
Median house price
$1,400,000
No WA-wide median published
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$780
≈ $3,380/month
Sourced from REIWA (Real Estate Institute of Western Australia) · REIWA, 12 months ending August 2026
Healthcare access
Good
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, Margaret River, Augusta 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.
Dunsborough (SAL 50441) · 2021 Census
The age profile is close to the national one, with 19.7% aged 65 or over against 17.2% and 22% children against 18.2%. Among households, home ownership is high at 75.7% of dwellings against 65.9% nationally.
Population
6,413
Population growth
+30.8%
Busselton Surrounds (SA2 501011003)
Median age
41 years
Labour force participation
63.4%
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
$883
Per week · ≈ $45,916/year
Median family income
$2,040
Per week
Median household income
$1,738
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
75.7%
Rented
20.8%
Born in Australia
70.8%
Born overseas
21.4%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.