Mount Isa, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mount Isa is an outback mining city in north-west Queensland, straddling the Leichhardt River about 900 kilometres west of Townsville and more than 1,800 kilometres from Brisbane by road. It lies on the traditional land of the Kalkadoon people, whose language was Kalkatunga. The settlement dates to 1923, when prospector John Campbell Miles found rich mineral deposits and named his claim after the Mount Ida goldfields in Western Australia. Mount Isa Mines grew into one of the most productive operations in world history, yielding silver, lead, copper and zinc, and the city remains heavily dependent on mining. Mount Isa also bills itself as the rodeo capital of Australia, hosting one of the country's largest annual rodeos.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Mount Isa is more socio-economically advantaged than about 96% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1109, 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.
Mount Isa at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 172
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $4,727
- SEIFA score
- 1109
- Coordinates
- -20.4949, 139.4077
Mount Isa demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mount Isa 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 34%, 20% of homes are rented, and 14% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 55 | 32% |
| Youth (15–24) | 15 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 58 | 34% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 39 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 6 | 3% |
Share of the 173 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 7 | 13% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 8 | 15% |
| Rented | 11 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 45 | 83% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 54 occupied private dwellings in Mount Isa.
- Median weekly rent
- $175
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,250
- Average household size
- 3.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,812
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,812
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 24 (14%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 12 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 8 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 81 (69%)
- Labour-force participation
- 79.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- Employed full-time
- 73
- Employed part-time
- 12
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 Mount Isa
Where is Mount Isa?
Mount Isa is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Mount Isa?
At the 2021 Census, Mount Isa had a population of about 172.
Is Mount Isa an advantaged area?
Mount Isa has an ABS SEIFA score of 1109, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 96 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 96% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.