Roma, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Roma is a rural town in the Maranoa region of south-west Queensland, on Bungil Creek about 480 kilometres west-north-west of Brisbane at the meeting of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways. It was established on pastoral land in 1862 and named after Lady Diamantina Bowen, born Diamantina di Roma, the wife of Queensland's first governor. Roma grew into a major pastoral centre and is home to one of the country's largest cattle saleyards. The district also has a notable place in Australia's energy history: natural gas was found near the town in 1904 and was being used for street lighting by 1906, a story told at the Big Rig museum. Roma is famous too for its bottle trees and for Romavilla, a winery established in 1866.
Less advantaged than the national average
Roma is more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 953, 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.
Roma at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,838
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,706
- SEIFA score
- 953
- Coordinates
- -26.5618, 148.8024
Roma demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Roma 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 27%, 45% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,474 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 968 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,866 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,596 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 924 | 14% |
Share of the 6,828 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 622 | 25% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 657 | 26% |
| Rented | 1,144 | 45% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,262 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 222 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 13 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,520 occupied private dwellings in Roma.
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,171
- Median weekly personal income
- $957
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 655 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 415 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 839 (12%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,407 (47%)
- Labour-force participation
- 67%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.1%
- Employed full-time
- 2,390
- Employed part-time
- 879
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 Roma
Where is Roma?
Roma is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Roma?
At the 2021 Census, Roma had a population of about 6,838.
Is Roma an advantaged area?
Roma has an ABS SEIFA score of 953, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 31 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of Australian suburbs.
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