Prism Geo · city intelligence · pilot
Perth · image via Wikimedia Commons
Prism Geo · Australia · Western Australia · Perth

Perth

Western Australia, Australia · updated 2026-08-07

Perth is a muscular resources-and-technology city with serious universities, active company formation and public money flowing into transport. Its economy is broader than the mining label suggests, reaching healthcare, manufacturing and digital services. The honest drag is a darker civic mood: violent crime and road danger are taking more attention, while much of the startup field remains unfunded.

Perth · image via Wikimedia Commons
news reported (civic)
12,074
companies + mapped places
7,475 + 52
research works (est.)
≈96,824
govt money announcements
571
The city at a glance
economic fabric

What is Perth made of?

💻 Technology
10/10
🏭 Manufacturing
10/10
🏟 Sports
10/10
🛍 Retail
10/10
🏥 Healthcare
10/10
🌱 Sustainability
9/10
🚛 Logistics
8/10
🎓 Education
8/10
🛕 Religion & tourism
8/10
🌾 Agriculture
6/10

news coverage + 3×registered companies + 2×mapped places, log-scaled vs strongest sector

momentum

What the city turned toward · Jan–Apr 2026

Each topic's share of news attention, January–April 2026 against September–December 2025 — news ingestion paused in May, so this is the latest complete window.

Terrorism Conflict

5 → 64 news reports
▲545%

Legal Judicial

21 → 6 news reports
▼86%

Corruption

14 → 10 news reports
▼64%

Healthcare

15 → 11 news reports
▼63%

Missing Persons

16 → 12 news reports
▼62%

Infrastructure & housing

18 → 14 news reports
▼61%

Policing Law Enforcement

27 → 32 news reports
▼40%

Disasters Emergencies

18 → 46 news reports
▲29%

Crime

136 → 343 news reports
▲27%

Public Safety

15 → 37 news reports
▲24%

a rising share means the city's attention is turning toward it — not necessarily more incidents

top city themes

What Perth's news is about

Themes across the city's entire news coverage — ≈83.6K located reports — with each theme's momentum, its most specific keywords, and how the coverage feels. A CRITICAL badge means most of that theme's coverage is extremely negative.

Sports

▼46.2% declining
Test Cricket · Test Innings · 5-day Cricket · Ashes Test
63% positive coverage

Business

▲14.3% growing
Overseas Air Routes · Offshore Well Completion · Solar Electricity Generation · Diamond Drilling
82% positive coverage

Cricket

▼84.4% declining
Test Cricket · Test Innings · 5-day Cricket · Ashes Test
65% positive coverage

Crime

▲245.5% growing
Murder Investigations · Sexual Assault · Child Maltreatment · Sexual Abuse
100% negative coverage

Football

▲27.3% growing
Test Cricket · Final Match Recaps · Test Innings · Ashes Test
53% positive coverage

Politics

steady coverage
Asylum Seeker Processing · Islamophobic Attack · Neighborhood Violence · Community Violence
87% negative coverage

Finance

▲66.7% growing
Housing Analytics · Housing Market Cycle · Home Price Appreciation · Gold Spot Price
79% positive coverage

Entertainment

▲73.3% growing
Rock Concerts · Alternative Rock Concerts · Wwe Championship · Rock Band Tours
81% positive coverage

Technology

▼16.7% declining
Solar Electricity Generation · Grid-scale Batteries · Business Partnership · Overseas Air Routes
88% positive coverage

momentum window: Jan–Apr 2026 vs Sep–Dec 2025 · sentiment is a property of the news coverage, not a city rating

city signals

The character of Perth

  • ✓Resources anchor— Mining and metals lead with 779 tracked companies
  • ✓Technology leader— Technology earns 10/10 across news, companies and mapped businesses
  • ✓Research heavyweight— Local institutions produced 13832 papers in the partial research view
  • ✓Transport-backed growth— Transport leads city-naming government announcements
  • ✓Startup churn— 1190 companies have been founded since 2018
  • ✓Manufacturing experiment— Firebird won $2 million for a manganese demonstration facility
  • ✓Global air link— Qantas extended Perth-Rome flights through October
  • ✓Data-centre momentum— CDC is investing $415m in a new data-centre campus
everyday life

Living in Perth means…

  • ✓watching roads and personal safety— Crime and road-safety coverage both gained share
  • ✓seeing transport investment— Transport leads government funding themes
  • ✓living among major universities— Curtin, UWA, Edith Cowan and Murdoch anchor local research
  • ✓finding digital business services— Digital service businesses dominate the mapped street economy
  • ✓watching flu more closely— Influenza attention is rising as broader outbreak attention recedes
  • ✓reading a hard-edged news mood— 44% of news coverage reads negative

read from the news record — not a survey

hidden depth

Things most people don't know

  • The research count studying Perth itself, 14437, is slightly larger than the 13832 papers attributed to local institutions in the partial view.
  • The Kids Research Institute Australia contributes 708 papers to Perth's local research output.
  • Regis Resources and Vault Minerals announced a merger of equals to create a new senior gold producer.
  • West Perth-based Pilot Energy commissioned the first module of its Dongara data centre.
  • Additional Qantas flights between Perth and Rome were extended through the end of October.
The verdict & benchmarks — PerthWhat the record is made of — PerthJustice & accountability — PerthEvents & specifics — PerthThe civic record of PerthWhat problems are increasing?What diseases are rising?What projects is my government investing in?What companies are hiring?What skills are in demand?Which industries dominate?The startup picture in PerthIs this city good for manufacturing?What research is done in Perth?What research studies Perth?Who runs the political conversation?What is the news saying?
Safety & civic life
Civic intelligence · Prism engine

Where does Perth stand against the developed world?

Six-nation developed-median report card (USA · UK · FR · DE · AU · CA) computed from the same data, like-for-like. ▼ worse than the norm, ▲ better.

Six-nation developed median (USA · UK · France · Germany · Australia · Canada) — ▼ worse than the norm, ▲ better

Enforcement Action
28.2%here
20.3%benchmark
▲
Cases Concluded
8.9%here
5.5%benchmark
▲
Fatality-linked News
12.6%here
15.3%benchmark
▲
Road-accident Accountability
7.7%here
5.8%benchmark
▲
Communal Politics
2.9%here
3.6%benchmark
▲
Corruption Load
2.1%here
1.8%benchmark
▼
Civic record homeBenchmarksThe recordJusticeEvents
Open the full data →

four chapters, plus the politics and money layers

Civic record

What problems are increasing?

accidents road safety is taking the fastest-growing slice of the city's news (up 5.8 points), with crime violence next (up 5.4). Crime still leads in volume, but its share is shrinking.

Each problem's slice of city news — change in points, 2024–26 vs 2021–23
Accidents Road SafetyAccidents Road SafetyAccidents Road Safety: +5.8 points of coverage share+5.8Crime ViolenceCrime ViolenceCrime Violence: +5.4 points of coverage share+5.4Terrorism ConflictTerrorism ConflictTerrorism Conflict: +3.0 points of coverage share+3.0Environment PollutionEnvironment PollutionEnvironment Pollution: +1.4 points of coverage share+1.4Legal JudicialLegal JudicialLegal Judicial: +0.6 points of coverage share+0.6Policing Law EnforcementPolicing Law EnforcementPolicing Law Enforcement: -1.7 points of coverage share-1.7Immigration BorderImmigration BorderImmigration Border: -1.7 points of coverage share-1.7Disasters EmergenciesDisasters EmergenciesDisasters Emergencies: -3.2 points of coverage share-3.2Public HealthPublic HealthPublic Health: -8.3 points of coverage share-8.3
Fastest-rising specific problems
homicide +2.3 ptstraffic accident +2.1 ptssexual assault +1.9 ptsbomb threat +1.0 ptsinvasive species +0.7 ptsterrorist attack +0.7 ptsfire incident +0.5 ptschild exploitation +0.5 pts
Summary

Perth's civic picture is deteriorating around violence and roads. Crime and violence took a bigger slice of the city's news, up 5.4 points, while accidents and road safety rose 5.8 points. Homicide was the fastest-growing specific problem, up 2.30 points.

WATCH Keep an eye on whether homicide and traffic crashes keep displacing other civic concerns.
Open the full data →

12,074 pieces of news reported

Health

What diseases are rising?

Rising: influenza outbreak.

SignalNews Reported2024–26 Trend
Disease Outbreak50▼ receding
Influenza Outbreak14▲ rising
Vaccine Preventable Disease Outbreak12▼ receding
Bacterial Infection11▼ receding
Coronavirus Outbreak10▼ receding
Pandemic Outbreak9▼ receding
Viral Outbreak5▼ receding
Public-health coverage by year
2026: 122017202612
Summary

The broader outbreak signal is cooling, but flu is the exception. Disease-outbreak coverage is receding after 50 reports; influenza is rising with 14 mentions, while vaccine-preventable disease is receding with 12.

WATCH Watch whether rising influenza attention becomes a broader outbreak pattern.
Open the full data →

disease signals drawn from local news coverage

Money & governance
Public money

What projects is my government investing in?

transport leads 571 tracked announcements — development-authority land purchase, Smart City works and national-highway tenders anchor the money trail.

Announcement themes
Largest place-directed announcements
DateThemeLevelAmountWhat
2025-06TransportNational$100 MillionThe Western Australian State Government allocated over $100 million in the State Budget for road…
2010-01EducationNational$100 MillionThe Australian government's Apprentice Kickstart scheme increased employer commencement bonuses…
2022-07Urban HousingLocal$93.4 Million on RoaThe City of Swan adopted a zero-percent rates increase for the third year running in its 2022-23…
2024-04OtherState / Province$92.2 MillionThe Western Australian state government announced a $92.2 million budget allocation to support over…
2026-05OtherNational$85.2 MillionThe Australian Federal Government allocated $85.2 million to deliver faster skills assessments and…
2013-06EducationNational$83 MillionThe Australian Commonwealth Government proposed an additional $83 million in funding for…
Summary

Government spending is transport-led, with 122 city-naming announcements, ahead of health at 61. The largest listed transport item directs over $100 million to road upgrades, while housing and homelessness also receive substantial attention.

WATCH Watch delivery of road upgrades and whether housing support turns into visible capacity.
Open the full data →

amounts are announcement headlines — shown, never summed

Politics

Who runs the political conversation?

2600 statements track Perth politics — communal-coded rhetoric runs 1.6% (developed-world median ≈3.65%; a typical Indian city runs ≈11%).

Loudest voices
Stance mix
supports · 929opposes · 799condemns · 419proposes · 335demands · 36defends · 32
Summary

Political conversation is unusually light on religious or communal framing. It appears in 1.6% of tracked statements, below the developed-world median of 3.65% and far below the typical Indian-city level of 11%. Recent quoted voices focus on water, transport costs, shipbuilding and housing.

WATCH Watch whether housing delivery and major infrastructure costs dominate the next political cycle.
Open the full data →

from political statements naming the city

Economy & work
Jobs

What companies are hiring?

Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. leads 15 tracked postings; top advertised role: Senior Teacher (WFH).

Top hiring companies · May–Jul 2026
Hiring volume by month · May–Jul 2026
Summary

Perth's visible hiring market is narrow and specialist in this view. Of 15 job advertisements, Geosyntec Consultants accounts for 5 and AKademy38 Education for 4, pointing toward consulting and education rather than a broad recruiter mix.

WATCH Watch for a wider recruiter mix before treating this as a broad hiring surge.
Open the full data →

15 job postings tagged to the city in May–Jul 2026 (a floor, not a census)

Jobs

What skills are available?

Most-demanded skills: english proficiency (written), mathematics, gis.

Most-demanded skills
Summary

Employers want dependable fundamentals plus technical fluency. Written English and mathematics each appear in 4 job advertisements, while GIS appears in 3; cloud architecture and Microsoft Azure add a clear digital-infrastructure thread.

WATCH Watch whether GIS and cloud skills spread beyond the current specialist employers.
Open the full data →

demand-side signal (what employers ask for), not a resident skill census

Economy

Which industries dominate?

Registered economy: mining & metals, information technology and services, financial services lead 7,475 tracked companies · biggest tracked employer: Wesfarmers.

Registered companies by industry
Street economy — mapped places
Summary

Perth is economically broad, but resources still set the weight. Mining and metals lead with 779 companies; technology rates 10/10, and CDC's planned data-centre campus carries a $415m investment. Healthcare, retail, sports and manufacturing also rank at the top of the sector mix.

WATCH Watch data-centre and advanced-processing projects for signs of diversification beyond resources.
Open the full data →

company registry (startup-skewed) + mapped business places

Economy

Is this city good for manufacturing?

Emerging Base (1/4 signals) — each signal below is a live threshold that can fail.

  • 1286 of 7475 registered startups/companies (17%) are manufacturing-adjacent
  • infrastructure news share falling (down 0.1 points)
Summary

Manufacturing is an emerging base, not yet a dominant one: it scores 1/4, though 17% of tracked companies are manufacturing-adjacent. Firebird Metals' $2 million manganese demonstration facility is the kind of project that could deepen the base.

WATCH Watch whether demonstration projects become operating plants and local supplier networks.
Open the full data →

computed verdict — each signal is a live threshold that can fail

Startups & capital
Startups

Is there VC activity?

713 of 7,475 tracked companies have raised outside money — #1 among its peer set.

Funded startups — peer cities
Summary

Outside capital is present but not normal. Among 7475 tracked companies, 713 have ever raised outside money, while only 148 are classed as having raised funding. That makes Perth's venture layer real, yet thin relative to its corporate breadth.

WATCH Watch whether new financings reach more of the recent company wave.
Open the full data →

round amounts sparse for tier-3 cities — counts shown, dollar totals withheld

Startups

Is a startup ecosystem forming?

Formation is real — 1190 companies founded since 2018 — but capital progression is weak: deadpool 8.4%, and stages are dominated by Unfunded.

Companies founded by year
2025: 172008202517
Stage distribution
Unfunded · 2552Deadpooled · 631Public · 571Acquired · 412Funding Raised · 148Seed · 63
Summary

Company formation is energetic, but durability and finance are the tests. The recent founding wave produced 1190 companies, 8.4% of all tracked companies have shut down, and 2552 remain unfunded. Perth has motion; it has not yet converted enough of that motion into backed growth.

WATCH Watch survival and first-time funding among the newest companies.
Open the full data →

gate: ≥150 companies & ≥20 recent founds — passed (7475/1190)

The knowledge engine
Research · Prism stance layer

What research is done IN Perth?

Curtin University leads ≈96,824 estimated works. 42% of oriented output reads promising/breakthrough — clusters in parkes, children's health, sustainability.

Institutions (papers in sample)
Research orientation
Opportunities (promising + breakthrough)
Parkes · 139Children's Health · 98Sustainability · 73Women's Health · 68Machine Learning · 66Healthcare · 66Pulsars · 60
Cautions (cautionary + critical)
Climate Change · 47Children's Health · 47Women's Health · 35Research · 21Men's Health · 19Education · 17Healthcare · 16
Problems flagged
Children's Health · 93Healthcare · 83Mental Health · 69Women's Health · 69Research · 64COVID-19 · 54Climate Change · 46
Also: research ABOUT Perth →
Summary

Research is a major institutional asset. The partial view finds 13832 papers from local institutions, led by Curtin University with 4774 and The University of Western Australia with 4678. The work leans promising, with children's health, sustainability and women's health among the clearest opportunity areas.

WATCH Watch whether strong health and sustainability work turns into local ventures or services.
Open the full data →

figures marked ≈ are scaled estimates from a partial sample · Prism stance layer over 2017+ papers

Research · Prism stance layer

What research is done FOR Perth?

Narrower but distinct: 14437 title-matched works study Perth itself — led by thyroid disorders and treatments, ultrasound and hyperthermia applications, nanoparticle-based drug delivery.

Top topics in city-focused research
Works about the city by year
2026: 812000202681
Summary

Perth is studied through a distinctly biomedical lens. Thyroid disorders and treatments lead with 257 papers, followed by ultrasound and hyperthermia applications at 235 and nanoparticle-based drug delivery at 207. Cancer diagnosis, treatment and magnetic nanoparticles deepen the pattern.

WATCH Watch for clinical or commercial follow-through from the city's concentrated medical research attention.
Open the full data →

papers whose title or entities mention Perth (any author location) · partial sample · distinct from research done at the city's institutions

The pulse
News pulse

What is the news saying?

News attention is 44% negative-toned (typical for city civic coverage) — the volume trend tracks total attention on Perth.

Monthly news-feature volume
2026-05-01: 102023-012026-0510
Summary

The news mood is hard-edged: 44% of coverage reads negative. In the latest window, attention to terrorism and conflict rose 545%, while crime rose 27%, reinforcing a sharper sense of insecurity even as several other civic themes cooled.

WATCH Watch whether the security spike fades or becomes Perth's lasting news frame.
Open the full data →

from location-tagged news · sentiment skew is a property of news, not the city

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