Waroona

The area is much older than most, with the typical age being 48, which is 10 years older than the national figure. Seniors make up 24.4% of the population, a figure well above the national average, while the proportion of children has fallen to 16.4% since 2011.

English and Australian are the most common ancestries. While 18% of residents were born overseas, this is far below the Western Australian average of 32.2%.

English is the main language for 86.1% of the community. Only 5.9% of people use another language at home, which is far below the national figure of 22.3%.

A large proportion of residents report no religion, accounting for 43.5% of the population. This figure has risen by 19 points since 2011 and is well above the national average.

Educational attainment is among the lowest for similar areas, with only 7.1% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. Just 32.7% of residents finished Year 12, which is far below the state and national figures.

Typical weekly personal income is $620, which is well below the national figure of $805. However, there has been a trend of growth, with typical household incomes rising by $205 since 2011.

Long-term health conditions are more common here than in most areas, affecting 31.6% of the population. Arthritis is the most reported condition at 12.4%.

Volunteer rates are higher than most areas at 19.4%, though this has fallen since 2011. The area also has a much higher proportion of former Defence Force members than the national average.

First Nations residents have a median personal income of $586, which is a little above the national figure. While Year 12 completion is higher than the state average, the unemployment rate is well above at 21.3%.

Families with children make up 53.1% of households, and 28% of people live alone. The typical household size is 2.4 people, which is about the same as the national figure.

Housing is dominated by separate houses, which make up 92.1% of dwellings. A high 41% of homes are owned outright, far above the national figure of 31%, while renting is much lower than most areas.

The community is heavily reliant on cars, with 62.2% of people driving to work and only 2.4% using public transport. Very few people work from home, at just 6.7%.

The population is relatively stable, with 31.4% of people moving in the last five years, which is well below the national average. Recent arrivals from overseas have also fallen to 4.9% since 2011.

Unemployment is a little above the national figure at 6.6%. Many residents work in mining, construction, and manufacturing, but the proportion of people working or looking for work is far below the state average.

The area is ranked as having low overall advantage, scoring 2 out of 10 compared to all areas. It is particularly low in education and job skills, where it sits in the bottom 10% of similar places.

Waroona is much wetter than the state average, with annual rainfall of 754mm compared to 185mm for Western Australia. Temperatures are generally cooler than the state average.

The town is mostly car-dependent with a low walkability score of 2.0. Very few residents can walk to health services, and only 27.6% are within a 15-minute walk of groceries.