Ravenshoe, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Ravenshoe is a small town on the southern Atherton Tableland of far north Queensland, around 123 kilometres south-west of Cairns. Perched at about 930 metres above sea level, it is the highest town in Queensland, and its cool, misty climate sets it apart from the tropical coast below. The Jirrbal people, who speak a dialect of the Dyirbal language, are the traditional owners of the surrounding country. Settlement followed the discovery of red cedar in the 1890s, and the timber village, first called Cedar Creek, took the name Ravenshoe, supposedly after a copy of Henry Kingsley's novel found discarded nearby. Among its draws are Millstream Falls, often called Australia's widest waterfall, the Windy Hill wind farm, and a heritage steam railway.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Ravenshoe is more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 833, 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.
Ravenshoe at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,332
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $859
- SEIFA score
- 833
- Coordinates
- -17.6209, 145.5069
Ravenshoe demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Ravenshoe 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 33%, 28% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 194 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 135 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 196 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 431 | 33% |
| Seniors (65+) | 365 | 28% |
Share of the 1,321 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 242 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 98 | 19% |
| Rented | 145 | 28% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 498 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 15 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 520 occupied private dwellings in Ravenshoe.
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,000
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,116
- Median weekly personal income
- $483
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 149 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 43 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 254 (19%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 354 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 42.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 12.6%
- Employed full-time
- 219
- Employed part-time
- 161
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 Ravenshoe
Where is Ravenshoe?
Ravenshoe is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Ravenshoe?
At the 2021 Census, Ravenshoe had a population of about 1,332.
Is Ravenshoe an advantaged area?
Ravenshoe has an ABS SEIFA score of 833, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 3 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of Australian suburbs.
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