Charleville, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Charleville is the main outback town in south-western Queensland, the seat of the Shire of Murweh, on the Warrego River about 745 kilometres west of Brisbane. [HELD — FIRST NATIONS GATE: a sentence naming the traditional owners of the Charleville area was drafted here; held from publication per company.md §5 (confirmed HOLD, no reviewer engaged) until reviewer sign-off and Lauren lifts the hold. Reinstatable after review.] The name is thought to honour Charleville in County Cork, Ireland; the town was gazetted in 1865 and the railway arrived in 1888. Population: 2,992 at the 2021 Census (ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, SAL30582, Suburbs and Localities). The 2026 Census has not yet been released — 2021 is the current official ABS figure. Note: the SAL30582 figure of 2,992 covers the Charleville township as the ABS defines it; the broader Shire of Murweh LGA had a population of around 3,900 at the same census. When comparing figures, confirm whether you are looking at the SAL (the town) or the LGA. A 2016 figure of 3,335 is also on the record, indicating a decline of about 10% over the five years to 2021. The town is known for the Cosmos Centre and Observatory (low light-pollution, nocturnal sky-watching), a Royal Flying Doctor Service base, a captive-breeding program for the vulnerable greater bilby, and the 1902 Stiger Vortex rain-making cannons. It served as a busy air base in 1943.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Charleville is more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 923, 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.
Is Charleville a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Charleville from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
18/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (18/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
82/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $178 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 82% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Charleville at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,992
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,325
- SEIFA score
- 923
- Local government area
- Murweh
- Coordinates
- -26.3798, 146.2778
Map of Charleville
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Charleville
What it costs to live in Charleville and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $178
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $867
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 61%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 35%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Charleville demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Charleville demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Charleville 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 28% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 523 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 318 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 731 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 844 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 580 | 19% |
Share of the 2,996 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 393 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 314 | 27% |
| Rented | 401 | 35% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,068 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 29 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 44 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,159 occupied private dwellings in Charleville.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,813
- Median weekly personal income
- $822
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 295 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 208 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 410 (14%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 932 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.2%
- Employed full-time
- 914
- Employed part-time
- 348
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.
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Common questions about Charleville
Is Charleville a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Charleville rates 39/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Charleville?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Charleville was $178, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $867. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Charleville?
Charleville is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Murweh local government area.
What is the population of Charleville?
At the 2021 Census, Charleville had a population of about 2,992.
Is Charleville an advantaged area?
Charleville has an ABS SEIFA score of 923, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 18 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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