South West, WA
wine-country · surfy · foodie · artistic
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Move Regional compares towns across QLD, NSW and WA on price, work, schools and lifestyle, so you can find the one that fits.
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Drive to the coast
11 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
8 min
By road
Airport access
54 min
By road
Schools access
Good
Average daytime temp
21.3°C
Rainfall
Moderate rainfall
Margaret River has grown quickly enough that it no longer reads as a tiny south-west town. About 8,900 people live in the Margaret River area and population has risen by roughly 30% since 2016, one of the stronger growth rates among the towns we cover. The median age is 39, giving the community a younger profile than many regional WA locations.
Perth is just over three hours away by road, so the town is far enough from the capital to operate as its own base rather than a long-distance suburb. The airport is about 55 minutes away and a major hospital around eight minutes, both useful for a regional centre of this size.
Average daytime temperatures are a mild 21°C, with warm summers, cool winters and moderate rainfall. Fixed-line internet supports remote work and everyday connectivity. The most important thing for a prospective mover to understand from the numbers is the pace of change: a 30% population increase over less than a decade means more demand on housing, roads and services than in a slow-growing country town.
Margaret River still sits at a modest regional scale, but it is not static. Moving here means choosing a growing south-west community where Perth is an occasional trip and most social, work and service needs have to be met locally.
27 photos
Margaret River suits people who are prepared to pay for a lifestyle they will actively use: food and wine professionals, creatives, surfers, remote workers, business owners and families drawn to an outdoors-heavy community. It is particularly good for people who want social and cultural energy in a regional setting and do not mind sharing the town with a large visitor economy.
Tourism is a major part of the local economy and peak periods can be busy. Strong lifestyle demand can also put pressure on housing, and the town is not close enough to Perth for easy commuting. People seeking quiet rural space may be happier outside town or in a less visited South West community.
Taste wine at Margaret River cellar doors
Surf at Surfers Point
Walk the Cape to Cape Track
Explore the region's limestone caves
Median house price
$1,003,250
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
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, 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.
Margaret River (WA) (SAL 50903) · 2021 Census
Younger than the national profile, with 13.9% aged 65 or over against 17.2%.
Population
8,918
Population growth
+30.4%
Margaret River (SA2 501011004)
Median age
39 years
Labour force participation
67%
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
$839
Per week · ≈ $43,628/year
Median family income
$1,944
Per week
Median household income
$1,640
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
70.1%
Rented
26.6%
Born in Australia
67.4%
Born overseas
24.8%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.