Mareeba, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mareeba is a town on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, about 60 kilometres inland from Cairns where the Barron River meets several creeks. It lies on the country of the Muluridji people, and its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning meeting of the waters. European settlement followed in the late 1870s, and the town grew as a coach stop and, after 1893, a railway centre; during the Second World War a large airfield nearby served as an Allied staging base. Blessed with a dry, sunny climate unusual for the tropics, Mareeba is a rich farming district producing coffee, mangoes, avocados and sugar. Its annual rodeo draws big crowds, and nearby Granite Gorge is known for its rock-wallabies.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Mareeba is more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 906, 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.
Mareeba at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,825
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $1,282
- SEIFA score
- 906
- Coordinates
- -17.0501, 145.5037
Mareeba demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mareeba 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 mid-life (45–64) at 25%, 30% of homes are rented, and 19% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,173 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,260 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,836 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,931 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,634 | 22% |
Share of the 11,834 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,605 | 38% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,125 | 26% |
| Rented | 1,293 | 30% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,795 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 40 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 311 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,275 occupied private dwellings in Mareeba.
- Median weekly rent
- $285
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,495
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,607
- Median weekly personal income
- $689
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,018 (19%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,561 (15%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,501 (13%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,875 (42%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.8%
- Employed full-time
- 3,076
- Employed part-time
- 1,498
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 Mareeba
Where is Mareeba?
Mareeba is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Mareeba?
At the 2021 Census, Mareeba had a population of about 11,825.
Is Mareeba an advantaged area?
Mareeba has an ABS SEIFA score of 906, 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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