Normanton, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Normanton is the main town of the Gulf Country in north-west Queensland, on the Norman River about 678 kilometres west of Cairns and not far from the fishing port of Karumba at the river mouth. The Gkuthaarn and Kukatj peoples are recognised as the traditional owners of the surrounding country. The town and the river take their name from William Henry Norman, a naval officer who surveyed the Gulf of Carpentaria. The site was chosen in 1867 and gazetted in 1868, and in 1889 a railway was completed to the goldfield at Croydon, still travelled today by the historic Gulflander train. Cattle, fishing and tourism sustain the town, which is famous for Krys, a life-size statue of the largest crocodile ever recorded, shot nearby in 1957.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Normanton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 848, 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 Normanton 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 Normanton 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.
Normanton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,391
- Median age
- 31
- Median weekly household income
- $1,691
- SEIFA score
- 848
- Local government area
- Carpentaria
- Coordinates
- -17.9075, 140.9331
Map of Normanton
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Normanton
What it costs to live in Normanton and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $170
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $992
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 25%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 64%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Normanton demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Normanton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Normanton 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 children (0–14) at 27% and 5% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 374 | 27% |
| Youth (15–24) | 184 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 369 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 322 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 137 | 10% |
Share of the 1,386 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 69 | 18% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 27 | 7% |
| Rented | 252 | 64% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 334 | 84% |
| Townhouses & semis | 7 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 34 | 9% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 396 occupied private dwellings in Normanton.
- Average household size
- 3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,718
- Median weekly personal income
- $750
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 62 (5%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 51 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 774 (56%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 316 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.5%
- Employed full-time
- 359
- Employed part-time
- 96
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 Normanton
Is Normanton 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, Normanton 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 Normanton?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Normanton was $170, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $992. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Normanton?
Normanton is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Carpentaria local government area.
What is the population of Normanton?
At the 2021 Census, Normanton had a population of about 1,391.
Is Normanton an advantaged area?
Normanton has an ABS SEIFA score of 848, 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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