Julia Creek, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Julia Creek is a small outback town in north-west Queensland, on the Flinders Highway about 664 kilometres west of Townsville and 138 kilometres east of Cloncurry. An Aboriginal name for the nearby Williams River is Oorindi, said to mean stones. The town itself was named after a niece of Donald McIntyre, brother of the explorer Duncan McIntyre, who was among the first Europeans to settle the area around 1864. The township grew up around a railway terminus opened in 1907 as the line pushed west towards the Cloncurry copper mines. Cattle and sheep grazing the surrounding plains remain the mainstay, alongside mining nearby. Julia Creek is known for its Dirt n Dust Festival and as a stronghold of the tiny Julia Creek dunnart, an endangered marsupial found in the district.
Less advantaged than the national average
Julia Creek is more socio-economically advantaged than about 36% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 963, 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.
Julia Creek at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 549
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,586
- SEIFA score
- 963
- Coordinates
- -20.6402, 141.7098
Julia Creek demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Julia Creek 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 young adults (25–44) at 28%, 27% of homes are rented, and 4% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 111 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 61 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 153 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 151 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 66 | 12% |
Share of the 542 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 72 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 33 | 18% |
| Rented | 50 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 149 | 78% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 191 occupied private dwellings in Julia Creek.
- Median weekly rent
- $129
- Median monthly mortgage
- $625
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,107
- Median weekly personal income
- $963
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 19 (4%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 30 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 183 (43%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.3%
- Employed full-time
- 238
- Employed part-time
- 40
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 Julia Creek
Where is Julia Creek?
Julia Creek is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Julia Creek?
At the 2021 Census, Julia Creek had a population of about 549.
Is Julia Creek an advantaged area?
Julia Creek has an ABS SEIFA score of 963, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 36 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 36% of Australian suburbs.
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