Monto, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Monto is a rural town in the North Burnett region of Queensland, roughly 484km northwest of Brisbane. The name is believed to come from a local railway station and is sometimes explained as an Aboriginal term for a 'ridgy plain', though accounts vary. Pastoralists first settled the district in the late 1840s, gold was worked nearby from the 1870s, and the township itself was formally laid out in 1924 once the railway pushed through. Dairying and cattle have long underpinned the local economy. Visitors come for nearby Cania Gorge National Park, with its sandstone cliffs and walking tracks, and for the 'Three Moons' silo art that celebrates the area's farming and natural heritage.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Monto is more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 853, 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 Monto 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 Monto 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
4/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (4/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
84/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $170 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 84% 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.
Monto at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,156
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $853
- SEIFA score
- 853
- Local government area
- North Burnett
- Coordinates
- -24.8397, 151.1114
Map of Monto
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Monto
What it costs to live in Monto and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $170
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $800
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 64%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 31%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Monto demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Monto demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Monto 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 34% and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 142 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 121 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 173 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 319 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 391 | 34% |
Share of the 1,146 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 221 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 108 | 21% |
| Rented | 160 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 488 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 510 occupied private dwellings in Monto.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,148
- Median weekly personal income
- $491
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 100 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 46 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 40 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 297 (30%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.4%
- Employed full-time
- 243
- Employed part-time
- 156
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 Monto
Is Monto 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, Monto rates 31/100 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 Monto?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Monto was $170, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $800. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Monto?
Monto is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the North Burnett local government area.
What is the population of Monto?
At the 2021 Census, Monto had a population of about 1,156.
Is Monto an advantaged area?
Monto has an ABS SEIFA score of 853, 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.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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