Moranbah, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Moranbah is a planned mining town in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, in the Isaac Region about 195 kilometres south-west of Mackay. The population of Moranbah according to the ABS 2021 Census (SAL31912) was 9,425 people — a figure that reflects census-night residents and understates activity in the town on any given week, given the significant fly-in fly-out workforce that passes through. The Isaac Region LGA as a whole recorded 22,046 residents at the same census. The demographic picture is sharp and mining-shaped. The town skews male (55.9% of residents) and young: median age is 31, seven years below both the Queensland and national median of 38. Coal mining directly employs 29.4% of the workforce, and oil and gas extraction a further 10.3%; at the national level those industries account for just over 1% combined. The full-time employment rate is 70.4%, against a Queensland figure of 55.8%, and nearly half of employed residents — 46.7% — work 45 or more hours a week. That intensity translates into income: median household income is $3,079 a week, close to double the Queensland median of $1,675 and the national median of $1,746. Median weekly rent is $111, against $365 in Queensland, reflecting widespread employer-subsidised housing. The unoccupied dwelling rate of 29.5% — almost three times the Queensland average of 9.3% — is another signature of a town built around workforce availability rather than organic settlement. Moranbah was established in 1969 and built up through the 1970s by the Utah Development Company to house workers for the mines that now include Peak Downs, Goonyella Riverside and Grosvenor. Its first state school opened in 1971, and the town has grown into a full service community with schools, medical facilities, and a retail centre, even as its size fluctuates with commodity cycles.
Around the national middle
Moranbah is more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 998, 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 Moranbah 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Moranbah 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
56/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (56/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
93/100More affordable than most suburbs
Median weekly rent was $111 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 93% 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.
Moranbah at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 9,425
- Median age
- 31
- Median weekly household income
- $3,079
- SEIFA score
- 998
- Local government area
- Isaac
- Coordinates
- -21.9154, 147.8809
Map of Moranbah
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Moranbah
What it costs to live in Moranbah and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $111
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,300
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 27%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 68%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Moranbah demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Moranbah demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Moranbah 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 38% and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,307 | 24% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,158 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,608 | 38% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,083 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 268 | 3% |
Share of the 9,424 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 221 | 8% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 497 | 19% |
| Rented | 1,789 | 68% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,156 | 82% |
| Townhouses & semis | 437 | 17% |
| Flats & apartments | 37 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,638 occupied private dwellings in Moranbah.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,327
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,553
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,133 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 607 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 536 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,279 (48%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.4%
- Employed full-time
- 3,411
- Employed part-time
- 976
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 Moranbah
Is Moranbah 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, Moranbah rates 68/100 overall (Strong 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 Moranbah?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Moranbah was $111, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Moranbah?
Moranbah is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Isaac local government area.
What is the population of Moranbah?
At the 2021 Census, Moranbah had a population of about 9,425.
Is Moranbah an advantaged area?
Moranbah has an ABS SEIFA score of 998, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 56 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of Australian suburbs.
Does Moranbah have high household incomes?
Moranbah has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Queensland — the 12th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,079 per week).
Where Moranbah ranks
Moranbah appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Highest-income suburbs in Queensland#12 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.