Karratha

Western Australia · Western Australia - Outback (North) · 22,209 people · 27 suburbs · 4 postcodes

Karratha at a glance

22,209
Population
#30 of 123 in WA
15,218
km² area
2/km² density
32.4
Median age
-6.7 vs WA
1035
SEIFA IRSAD
#17 of 123 in WA
11
Schools
9 gov, 2 Cath, 0 indep
18.6%
Born overseas
66.1%
Renting

Map shows the Karratha LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.

Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: 1-2 (most disadvantaged), 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 (most advantaged).

Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Federal electorate boundaries can be toggled on the map. Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021 CED boundaries.

Karratha is a Local Government Area in Western Australia, in the Perth region. It covers 27 suburbs across 4 postcodes and an area of 15,218 km². Karratha has a population of 22,209 , ranking #30 most populous in WA. The most populous suburb is Nickol (4,938 residents).About 18.6% of residents were born overseas and 12.5% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

0–14 (25.3%) 15–24 (10.7%) 25–44 (38.1%) 45–64 (22.6%) 65+ (3.3%)
Show counts
0–14 years5,620 (25.3%)
15–24 years2,373 (10.7%)
25–44 years8,465 (38.1%)
45–64 years5,026 (22.6%)
65+ years728 (3.3%)
18.6%
Born overseas
12.5%
Speak a language other than English at home
11.7%
First Nations
2.8
Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

Owned outright (7.6%) Mortgaged (26.2%) Renting (66.1%)

Dwelling type mix

Separate house (86.7%) Semi/townhouse (10.4%) Flat/apartment (2.9%)
$311
Median weekly rent
$1,767
Median monthly mortgage
28.8%
Households with 0-1 cars
71.2%
Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

3.2%
Unemployment rate
7,916
In full-time work
2,350
In part-time work

Schools in Karratha

11 schools across Karratha: 81.8% Government, 18.2% Catholic, 0% Independent. The WA average is 71.4% / 14.1% / 14.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 925 (range 686 to 1019). WA median is 1006; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

WA average for comparison
Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

Primary (72.7%) Secondary (18.2%) Combined (9.1%) Special (0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300
LGA median 925 WA median 1006LGA range 686 to 1019

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.

All 11 schools in Karratha, sorted by enrolment:

School Sector Type Suburb Students ICSEA
Karratha Senior High School Government Secondary Karratha 1,253 918
Baynton West Primary School Government Primary Baynton 830 992
Tambrey Primary School Government Primary Karratha 683 930
St Luke's College Catholic Secondary Karratha 594 1010
Wickham Primary School Government Primary Wickham 355 905
St Paul's Primary School Catholic Primary Karratha 339 1019
Millars Well Primary School Government Primary Karratha 301 925
Karratha Primary School Government Primary Karratha 268 912
Pegs Creek Primary School Government Primary Karratha 234 899
Dampier Primary School Government Primary Dampier 193 984
Roebourne District High School Government Combined Roebourne 141 686

Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.

SEIFA socio-economic indexes

SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Karratha. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

1035
Ranked #17 of 123 WA LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

1052

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

1020

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

956

Suburbs in Karratha

Karratha contains 27 suburbs and 4 postcodes. Sorted by population.

SuburbPostcodePopulationMedian incomeMedian age
Nickol 6714 4,938 $3,736/wk 31
Baynton 6714 4,496 $3,390/wk 31
Bulgarra 6714 2,990 $2,812/wk 33
Millars Well 6714 2,104 $3,188/wk 31
Pegs Creek 6714 2,050 $2,420/wk 33
Wickham 6720 2,022 $3,358/wk 31
Dampier 6713 1,282 $3,664/wk 35
Roebourne 6718 975 $1,062/wk 34
Mardie 6714 609 $1,125/wk 39
Point Samson 6720 249 $2,478/wk 45
Gap Ridge 6714 175 $1,375/wk 39
Karratha Industrial Estate 6714 163 $2,028/wk 39
Karratha 6714 98 $1,583/wk 34
Cossack 6720 14 $2,124/wk 24
Maitland 6714 12 $1,375/wk 49
Balla Balla 6714 8 $725/wk 68
Cleaverville 6714 8 $824/wk 68
Stove Hill 6714 6 $2,250/wk 52
Gnoorea 6714 5 $900/wk 57
Whim Creek 6718 5 $2,749/wk 52
Antonymyre 6714
Burrup 6714 43
Cooya Pooya 6714
Dampier Archipelago 6713
Mount Anketell 6714
Mulataga 6714
Sherlock 6714 $1,375/wk 78

Postcodes covered

6713, 6714, 6718, 6720

Compare Karratha with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Karratha and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA Population Median age SEIFA IRSAD % renting % overseas-born
Karratha (WA) 22,209 32.4 1035 66.1% 18.6%
Port Hedland 15,628 32.8 999 73.0% 20.6%

Services and amenities

Frequently asked questions about Karratha

What is the population of Karratha?

The 2021 Census recorded 22,209 people living in Karratha, across 27 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Karratha?

Karratha contains 27 suburbs. The most populous are Nickol, Baynton, Bulgarra, Millars Well, Pegs Creek.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Karratha?

Karratha covers 4 postcodes: 6713, 6714, 6718, 6720.

How many schools are in Karratha?

Karratha has 11 schools, including 9 government, 2 Catholic, and 0 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Karratha?

Karratha has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 1035, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed . Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.