Council (LGA) · Area profile
Narrogin
1,631 km²
A high rate of volunteering and a reliance on cars define daily life in Narrogin. This regional Western Australian town is noticeably older than the national average, with a population that has shrank by 7.4% since 2016. It is a place where most people live in detached houses and a significant number of residents live alone. While the community is deeply engaged in local service, it faces challenges with a shrinking population and lower typical incomes compared to the state.
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The community is ageing, with a typical resident aged 43 and a high proportion of seniors—21.9% are aged 65 or over, which is well above the national figure. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 5.5% of the population, slightly above the state average.
English and Australian are the most common ancestries here. While 16.4% of residents were born overseas, this is far below the Western Australian average of 32.2%.
English is the main language for 80.5% of people. About 8.7% use another language at home, a figure that rose 2.9 points since 2016, though this remains well below the state average.
Nearly 40% of residents reported having no religion, which is about the same as the national figure. This represents a significant increase of 10 points since 2016.
Educational attainment is lower than the state and national averages, with only 12.8% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, Year 12 completion rose by 4.2 points since 2016 to reach 41.8%.
Incomes are generally lower than in the rest of the state, with a typical weekly household income of $1,310. This is well below the Western Australian typical of $1,815.
Health needs are higher here than in most similar areas, with 30.2% of people living with a long-term health condition. Around 6.4% of residents need help with daily activities, which is a little above the state average.
Community spirit is very high, with 24.3% of people volunteering, a figure far above the national average. Conversely, the proportion of people providing unpaid care or housework is lower than in most areas.
First Nations residents experience significant disadvantage, with a typical household income of $990 and an unemployment rate of 21.0%, which is well above the state figure.
Homes here are smaller than usual, with 2.2 people per household. There is a high number of people living alone (34.6%) and a notably high percentage of one-parent families at 17.4%.
The landscape is dominated by separate houses, which make up 91.6% of dwellings. While 36.4% of homes are owned outright, the typical weekly rent of $240 is well below the national average.
Daily travel is almost entirely car-dependent, with 68% of people driving to work. Public transport use is very low at 1.3%, and only 5.9% of people work from home.
The area has seen a higher-than-average number of recent overseas arrivals at 16.0%. However, 33.5% of the population moved in the last five years, which is well below the national figure.
Jobs are concentrated in health care, agriculture, and education. While full-time employment is at 60.9%, the number of adults working or looking for work is well below the national average.
The town has a low growth rate of 1.1%, which is well below the state average of 10.7%. Its overall advantage score of 942 is lower than the national average.
Narrogin is drier than most areas, with average annual rainfall of 374mm. Temperatures are generally cooler than the state average, with a typical minimum of 10.1 degrees.
The area is mostly car-dependent with a walkability score of 4.0. Very few homes (19.1%) are within a 10-minute walk of public transport, far below the state average of 80.9%.