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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Port Hedland is a regional centre in Western Australia, Australia, with a population of approximately 4,081, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 1319 km from the Perth CBD, Port Hedland is a regional area in Western Australia. The median household income is $178,568 per year.
Strong household incomes in Port Hedland underpin solid property demand. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Port Hedland. 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 Port Hedland on My School →Estimated 2 parks 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.
Port Hedland is a smaller community of 4,081 — about 73% of the Western Australia suburb median (5,605) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $178,568/year runs 79% above the Western Australia suburb median of $99,736, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Median rent of $210/week (~$910/month) covers only 50% of the median mortgage of $1,812/month — the remaining $902/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. Port Hedland is 1319 km from Perth, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 49% 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.
This suburb suits yield-focused investors who are comfortable with lower liquidity. Employment concentration and local population trends matter more here than in metro markets. Local rents consume roughly 6% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Port Hedland stacks up against the median of all Western Australia suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Port Hedland sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Port Hedland | WA median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 4,081 | 5,605 | -27% |
| Median household income | $178,568/yr | $99,736/yr | +79% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $210 | $350 | -40% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,812 | $1,902 | -5% |
| Distance to CBD | 1319 km | 20 km | +6495% |
| Separate houses | 49% | 79% | -30pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Port Hedland — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Port Hedland's 4,081-person market and $178,568 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Weak cash flow: $210/week rent covers only 50% of the $1,812/month median mortgage — a $902/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.
Only 49% 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 Port Hedland property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Port Hedland are modest for 2026 — incomes 79% above the WA median of $99,736 and a population of 4,081 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~50% of the typical mortgage ($910/month rent vs $1,812/month repayment), meaning investors will rely on capital growth rather than yield. The EquitySight investment score of 60/100 places Port Hedland in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Port Hedland scores 60/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 4,081, median household income of $178,568/year and median weekly rent of $210. 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 Port Hedland are an above-state-median household income of $178,568/year, a dwelling mix that is 49% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 2 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.
Port Hedland has a usual resident population of approximately 4,081, 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.
Port Hedland sits 1319 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 $210 in Port Hedland, equating to approximately $10,920/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 Port Hedland is $1,812, or approximately $21,744/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 $210 works out to $910/month, covering 50% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,812/month. That leaves a $902/month shortfall (around $10,824/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 (4,081 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,812 median mortgage, 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.