Jandowae, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Jandowae is a wheat and grazing town on Queensland's Western Downs, about 51 kilometres north of Dalby and 132 kilometres north-west of Toowoomba. Its name is said to come from a local Aboriginal word for a waterhole, recorded as Jindowie; a traveller's camp kept by a man named John Dowiae later shaped the spelling, which settled when the railway arrived in 1914, partly to avoid confusion with nearby Jondaryan. This is one of Queensland's largest wheat-growing districts, with barley, sorghum and cattle alongside, and two large sawmills once worked here. A brick Anglican and Catholic church, plus a striking dingo sculpture marking the nearby Dingo Barrier Fence, are local landmarks, and the biennial Timbertown festival celebrates the town's timber heritage.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Jandowae is more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 851, 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.
Jandowae at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,004
- Median age
- 53
- Median weekly household income
- $959
- SEIFA score
- 851
- Coordinates
- -26.7270, 151.1779
Jandowae demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Jandowae 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 seniors (65+) at 31%, 24% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 168 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 67 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 161 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 287 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 313 | 31% |
Share of the 996 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 184 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 85 | 21% |
| Rented | 96 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 370 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 394 occupied private dwellings in Jandowae.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $940
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,204
- Median weekly personal income
- $495
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 61 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 15 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 59 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 204 (25%)
- Labour-force participation
- 43.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.2%
- Employed full-time
- 166
- Employed part-time
- 120
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 Jandowae
Where is Jandowae?
Jandowae is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Jandowae?
At the 2021 Census, Jandowae had a population of about 1,004.
Is Jandowae an advantaged area?
Jandowae has an ABS SEIFA score of 851, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 4 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of Australian suburbs.
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