It is an affluent, upper middle class residential area with older Federation style homes, many being renovated.

Swanbourne is bounded by the Swanbourne Rifle Range and Cottesloe Golf Club to the north, Lake Claremont and Stirling Road to the east, the Fremantle railway line and North Street to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the west.

In contrast to Perth, it is slightly more humid and cooler in the summer, due to the sea breezes, which can be quite strong in the afternoon, with an average 3 pm wind speed of 27.7 km/h (17.2 mph).

Scotch College, a major independent school for boys, is the suburb's largest employer after the Army.

The Australian Special Air Service Regiment is based at Campbell Barracks within the suburb, which occupies the coastline north of Cottesloe and south of City Beach.

[3] This reflected a broader shift of ‘blue ribbon’ Liberal electorates selecting moderate, so called ‘teal’ candidates over the incumbent Liberal members due to disenfranchisement over the party’s environmental policies, gender issues within the party, as well as the strong support for the state’s Labour government.

[4][5] Within the parliament of Western Australia, the suburb falls within the state electoral district of Cottesloe, which is still held by the Liberal Party.