Council (LGA) · Area profile
Wandering
1,904 km²
Far older than the state or national average, Wandering is a small, mature community where the typical resident is 49. The population has grown by 22% since 2011 to reach 535 people, but it remains a place with very few children. It is a predominantly detached-housing area where many residents own their homes outright. This creates a stable, established character with a workforce heavily tied to agriculture and mining.
Wandering's schools draw a community as advantaged as its high household incomes suggest.
Wandering is well supplied with schools for its relatively small share of children.
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The community is aging rapidly, with 23.4% of people aged 65 or over, which is well above the national figure. Children under 15 make up only 13.6% of the population, a figure that has fallen by 7.8 percentage points since 2011.
Most residents were born in Australia (69.9%), and the area has far fewer overseas-born residents (12.3%) than the national average. English and Australian are the most common ancestries.
English is the primary language for 80% of the community. Very few people use another language at home (2.1%), and no one reported speaking little or no English.
A large number of residents report no religion at 43.0%, a figure that rose 19 percentage points since 2011. This is slightly above the Western Australian average.
Academic qualifications are much lower than the national average, with only 6.9% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. This is far below the 26.3% seen across Australia.
Typical weekly household income is $1,687, which is about the same as the national figure. However, the number of households earning $3,000 or more per week rose 7.8 percentage points since 2011.
Health outcomes are generally positive, with a lower rate of mental health conditions (6.2%) and long-term health conditions (25.8%) compared to the national average.
Volunteerism is high at 21.6%, well above the national figure. Residents also spend more time on unpaid housework than most other areas, though the number of people caring for children has fallen sharply.
There are 11 First Nations people in the area, with a typical age of 39, which is far older than the state and national figures of 24.
The area has a low rate of one-parent families at 6.1%. While people living alone rose to 22.5% since 2011, most homes still contain couples with or without children.
Housing is almost entirely made up of separate houses, and 50.5% are owned outright, which is far above the national figure. Renting is very uncommon, falling to 10.4% since 2011.
The community is highly car-dependent, with 18.2% of the workforce working from home, far above the state average. The drive time to the city is 89 minutes.
The population is stable, with far fewer people moving in the last five years (30.5%) compared to the national rate of 40.7%. No new arrivals from overseas were recorded in 2021.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing are the main industries, employing 39.3% of the workforce. Full-time employment is well above the national average at 68.2%.
The area ranks highly for overall advantage, sitting in the top 20% of all areas. This is supported by strong access to money and resources.
The area is cooler than the state average, with a typical minimum temperature of 9.3 degrees and annual rainfall far above the Western Australian average.
Wandering is almost entirely car-dependent, with a walkability score of 0.3. No homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries or health services.