Formerly an exclusive enclave for wealthy merchants and politicians, the West Perth suburb is now part of the inner mixed zone, and has predominantly office blocks which have displaced residential buildings.

The suburb has a relatively high proportion of miners, consultants, and especially medical specialists as compared with the Perth CBD.

Most retail outlets are located on Hay Street, which is the main commercial zone for the suburb, and these are focused on serving the office population.

[4] In 2018, West Perth was named as the best place to live in the world by international analytics company SAS.

Also in the precinct is Dumas House, the original Perth Observatory, the second location of Hale School, Solidarity Park, Edith Dircksey Cowan Memorial, and the Constitutional Centre of Western Australia.