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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Hay is a coastal suburb in Western Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 493, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 361 km from the Perth CBD, Hay is a coastal area in Western Australia. The median household income is $86,320 per year.
Hay has a solid income profile that supports reliable occupancy rates. Coastal lifestyle appeal adds a premium that supports long-term demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Hay. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Hay on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Hay is a smaller community of 493 — about 9% of the Western Australia suburb median (5,605) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Household income of $86,320/year is 13% below the Western Australia median of $99,736, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Rent of $300/week (78% coverage of the $1,658/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $358/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Hay is 361 km from Perth, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 35% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 79% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.
How Hay stacks up against the median of all Western Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Hay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Hay | WA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 493 | 5,605 | -91% |
| Median household income | $86,320/yr | $99,736/yr | -13% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $300 | $350 | -14% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,658 | $1,902 | -13% |
| Distance to CBD | 361 km | 20 km | +1705% |
| Separate houses | 35% | 79% | -44pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Hay — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 493 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Western Australia market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $300/week covers 78% of a $1,658/month mortgage, leaving a $358/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
Only 35% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 79% WA median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Hay property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Hay are modest for 2026 — incomes 13% below the WA median of $99,736 and a population of 493 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~78% of the typical mortgage ($1,300/month rent vs $1,658/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 46/100 places Hay in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Hay scores 46/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 493, median household income of $86,320/year and median weekly rent of $300. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Hay are a median household income of $86,320/year, a dwelling mix that is 35% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Hay has a usual resident population of approximately 493, compared with a Western Australia suburb median of 5,605 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Hay sits 361 km straight-line from the Perth CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $300 in Hay, equating to approximately $15,600/year in gross rental income (state median $350/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Hay is $1,658, or approximately $19,896/year (vs $1,902/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $300 works out to $1,300/month, covering 78% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,658/month. That leaves a $358/month shortfall (around $4,296/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (493 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,658 median mortgage, a unit-heavy dwelling mix (35% houses) where body-corporate costs and apartment supply affect resale, the broader Western Australia market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.