[3][4][5] Five sparsely-populated rural localities, with a collective population of 101 (as of 2021), comprise the entire shire.

Most properties are operated by family units with their main income from cattle, meat sheep and wool, with some goats.

A small tourism industry is developing in the region with some stations involved in station stays and with the Murchison Oasis Caravan Park and motel units located at the settlement providing facilities for tourists.

In 1985, a roadhouse was built nearby and additional shire buildings, including a museum.

A sparse population – and its consequent radio "quietness" – is a factor behind the Shire being selected as one of the two sites for the Square Kilometre Array – a proposed array of radio telescope receivers with a total collecting area of one square kilometre.

The Square Kilometre Array, or SKA, is a global radio telescope project involving institutions in more than 20 countries.