Miles, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Miles is a town on the Western Downs of southern Queensland, about 340 kilometres west of Brisbane on the Warrego Highway. It began as Dogwood Crossing, on Dogwood Creek, a name given by the German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt in 1844, and was later renamed in honour of William Miles, a Queensland colonial secretary. The post office opened in 1878 as the railway pushed west. Miles is best known for its Historical Village and Museum, a recreated early-Queensland streetscape of more than thirty buildings, many of them genuine structures relocated from around the district. The town also celebrates its bush heritage with the biennial Back to the Bush Festival. Grain, grazing and gas now drive the surrounding economy.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Miles is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 897, 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 Miles 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Miles 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
11/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (11/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
78/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $200 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 78% 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.
Miles at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,874
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,263
- SEIFA score
- 897
- Local government area
- Western Downs
- Coordinates
- -26.7216, 150.1521
Map of Miles
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Miles
What it costs to live in Miles and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $200
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,020
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 47%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 47%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Miles demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Miles demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Miles 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 25% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 379 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 229 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 440 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 458 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 360 | 19% |
Share of the 1,866 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 195 | 28% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 129 | 19% |
| Rented | 325 | 47% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 545 | 79% |
| Townhouses & semis | 114 | 17% |
| Flats & apartments | 13 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 688 occupied private dwellings in Miles.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,625
- Median weekly personal income
- $716
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 186 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 105 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 183 (10%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 615 (43%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.1%
- Employed full-time
- 511
- Employed part-time
- 232
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.
Share your local knowledge of Miles
Lived here or spent time in Miles? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Miles
Is Miles 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, Miles rates 33/100 overall (Lower 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 Miles?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Miles was $200, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,020. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Miles?
Miles is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Western Downs local government area.
What is the population of Miles?
At the 2021 Census, Miles had a population of about 1,874.
Is Miles an advantaged area?
Miles has an ABS SEIFA score of 897, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.