Boonah (Qld), QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Boonah is the main town of the Fassifern Valley, in Queensland's Scenic Rim, set among farmland about 86 kilometres south-west of Brisbane between the McPherson and Main Ranges. Its name comes from an Aboriginal word of the Yuggera and Yugumbir languages, generally taken to refer to the bloodwood or brigalow tree. The district was first taken up as the Dugandan pastoral run in 1844, and the settlement that grew nearby was known successively as Dugandan Scrub and Blumbergville before becoming Boonah. The railway reached the town in 1887 and a butter factory operated from 1916 to 1974, reflecting the valley's strong dairying tradition. Heritage reminders include the 1890 Christ Church and the playful Blumbergville Clock, unveiled in 2014.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Boonah (Qld) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 903, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Boonah (Qld) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,557
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $1,040
- SEIFA score
- 903
- Coordinates
- -27.9915, 152.6961
Boonah (Qld) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Boonah (Qld) using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 32%, 25% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 388 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 249 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 496 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 601 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 818 | 32% |
Share of the 2,552 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 439 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 258 | 26% |
| Rented | 245 | 25% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 881 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 88 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 991 occupied private dwellings in Boonah (Qld).
- Median weekly rent
- $300
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,261
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,343
- Median weekly personal income
- $560
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 315 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 131 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 64 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 889 (43%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.5%
- Employed full-time
- 484
- Employed part-time
- 345
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Boonah (Qld)
Where is Boonah (Qld)?
Boonah (Qld) is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Boonah (Qld)?
At the 2021 Census, Boonah (Qld) had a population of about 2,557.
Is Boonah (Qld) an advantaged area?
Boonah (Qld) has an ABS SEIFA score of 903, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 13 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of Australian suburbs.
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