Muttaburra, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Muttaburra is a tiny outback town in Central West Queensland, in the Barcaldine Region, on the banks of the Thomson River about 120 kilometres north-east of Longreach. It is sheep and cattle country, but the town's fame is far older: in 1963 the grazier Doug Langdon uncovered the fossil of Muttaburrasaurus, one of Australia's best-known dinosaurs, and a full-size replica now stands in town. The town takes its name from an Iningai clan, the Muttaburra, the traditional owners of the district; the word is variously said to mean 'the meeting of waters', 'meeting place' or 'camping ground'. Muttaburra was declared a town in 1878. Only about 160 people live here today.
Around the national middle
Muttaburra is more socio-economically advantaged than about 53% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 992, 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.
Muttaburra at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 158
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $1,042
- SEIFA score
- 992
- Coordinates
- -22.5272, 144.3971
Muttaburra demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Muttaburra 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 29%, 12% of homes are rented, and 5% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 33 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 11 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 36 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 45 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 32 | 20% |
Share of the 157 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 31 | 60% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 12 | 23% |
| Rented | 6 | 12% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 54 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 54 occupied private dwellings in Muttaburra.
- Median weekly rent
- $80
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,625
- Median weekly personal income
- $778
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 7 (5%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 9 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 54 (44%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Employed full-time
- 55
- Employed part-time
- 16
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 Muttaburra
Where is Muttaburra?
Muttaburra is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Muttaburra?
At the 2021 Census, Muttaburra had a population of about 158.
Is Muttaburra an advantaged area?
Muttaburra has an ABS SEIFA score of 992, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 53 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 53% of Australian suburbs.
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