Goldfields-Esperance, WA
fitzgerald-river · wildflowers · surfy · remote-coastal
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Drive to the coast
2 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
34 min
By road
Airport access
2h 14m
By road
Schools access
Limited
Average daytime temp
21.8°C
Rainfall
Very dry
Hopetoun is a small coastal town of about 1,100 people with population growth of roughly 12% since 2016. The median age is 46, giving the community a somewhat younger profile than many small coastal towns we cover. Perth is more than six hours away by road, so the town is clearly remote from the capital in everyday terms.
Air travel starts with a drive of around 2 hours 20 minutes away and the nearest major hospital about 40 minutes to the airport, which makes both travel and healthcare important logistical considerations. From a climate perspective, daytime temperatures average roughly 22°C, with mild summers, cool winters and low rainfall.
Digital connectivity relies on satellite service, so remote workers should assess the service carefully before choosing a property. The population increase shows some demand, but a town of this size still has a narrow local employment and service base. Most households need to be comfortable planning ahead for specialist appointments, larger shopping trips and air travel.
Hopetoun suits people who deliberately want a small regional coastal community and can structure life around distance. It is less suitable for anyone who needs frequent flights, city-level services or fixed-line internet as a non-negotiable part of work.
6 photos
Hopetoun is suited to people who deliberately want a small, remote coastal community: nature lovers, fishers, retirees, tradespeople and remote workers who can operate with limited local infrastructure. It has particular appeal for anyone who expects to spend serious time in Fitzgerald River National Park and values quiet, open space and low population more than convenience.
Perth is over six hours away, the airport is more than two hours away and the internet connection is satellite. Healthcare also requires more travel than in a regional city. These are significant constraints for families with complex medical needs, frequent flyers or anyone whose work depends on consistently strong connectivity.
Surf at Starvation Bay
Walk the trails around West Beach
Explore Fitzgerald River National Park from Hopetoun
Median house price
$475,000
No WA-wide median published
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$430
≈ $1,863/month
Sourced from REIWA (Real Estate Institute of Western Australia) · REIWA, 12 months ending August 2026
Healthcare access
Moderate
Shopping & everyday services
Moderate
Supermarket within 10km, limited other retail
Internet connection
Satellite
Outside both the fixed line and fixed wireless NBN footprints — Starlink and other satellite services still reach almost anywhere, but the built NBN infrastructure here is satellite-only.
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, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Exmouth, Denham, 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.
Hopetoun (WA) (SAL 50654) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 22.7% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 18.7% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (56.2% of families against 30.7%), and fewer dwellings are owner-occupied than nationally (49% against 65.9%), with 22.3% neither owned nor rented in the usual sense. Lone-person households are more common than average (36.9% against 25.6%).
Population
1,115
Population growth
+11.7%
Esperance Surrounds (SA2 511011275)
Median age
46 years
Labour force participation
52.8%
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
$748
Per week · ≈ $38,896/year
Median family income
$2,110
Per week
Median household income
$1,542
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
49%
Rented
28.7%
Born in Australia
68.4%
Born overseas
20.7%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.