National Forecast Program

Bunbury

The population and housing forecast for the Bunbury region

Published: March 2026
Version 5.2.0

Read forecast analysis and insights for the Greater Bunbury region from Australia's largest independent population forecasting team.

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Bunbury

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About

About the Bunbury region

Bunbury is a region in Western Australia’s South West. It includes:

  • The Shires of Waroona, Harvey, Collie, Dardanup, Capel, Donnybrook-Balingup, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Manjimup, Nannup, Augusta Margaret River, and the Cities of Busselton and Bunbury
  • The friendly bottlenose dolphins and vibrant art scene of Bunbury city
  • Busselton Jetty - the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere
  • The vineyards of the Margaret River region

Map image: via Google Map Data

About the Bunbury region

Key findings

Bunbury

The region reaches 250,000 residents in 2037. By 2046, the population is forecast to reach 284,024, an increase of 89,048 residents since 2021, supported by an additional 36,998 dwellings.

Major growth hotspots include Vasse, Yalyalup, Geographe, Dalyellup, Australind and Margaret River. This region is notable for its number and range of greenfield growth fronts: large-scale housing opportunities span from Australind down the coast to Yallingup, then further south to Margaret River and its smaller neighbours, Cowaramup and Witchcliffe.

Since our last review of the region, there has been further acceleration of property development, fast-forwarding of land releases, and identification of additional capacity. In addition to the usual suburbs driving growth (various suburbs of Busselton, and those sprawling out of Bunbury), we have noted a surprising level of activity in relatively less known locations, such as the town of Capel and localities along the Bussell Highway south of Margaret River.

What share of Australia's growth will occur in Western Australia?

Western Australia is forecast to add 1.2 million people by 2046. The Bunbury region contributes about 7.5% of this growth, the largest share outside of metropolitan Perth.

Read our forecast results and analysis for Western Australia to learn more about how the different drivers of population change affect the distribution of growth throughout the state.

The population forecast for Western Australia

Forecast results

The following forecast information presents the numbers for the entire Bunbury region.

Learn more about the different options to access these forecasts for Local Government Areas (LGAs), suburbs, custom catchments or the entire state or nation here.

202120262031203620412046
Forecast Population194,976215,248231,660248,413266,281284,024
Change (five year)-20,27216,41216,75317,86817,744
Average Annual Change (%)-2.00%1.48%1.41%1.40%1.30%
Forecast Dwellings89,78795,199101,759109,680118,349126,785
Change (five year)-5,4126,5607,9218,6698,436
Average Annual Change (%)-1.18%1.34%1.51%1.53%1.39%

Map of development sites

The map below identifies all major development sites that have been identified in our research.

These sites have been organised to understand the likely location, capacity, timing and sequence of future development. By matching forecast population growth in this area to these sites, we can provide a more granular view of the distribution of the forecast population within a given region.

In the Bunbury region, we identified 602 development sites. 57% of these sites' dwelling capacity was used in the forecast period.

Learn more about our land use research

Access

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The team

Our forecasting team

Prepared and presented by experts from Australia's largest independent population forecasting team.

Johnny Barnard

Johnny Barnard

Principal Consultant

Liza Ivanova

Liza Ivanova

Principal Forecast Consultant

Richard Thornton

Richard Thornton

Head of Forecasting

Oliver Bowering

Oliver Bowering

Senior Forecast Consultant

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