Oakey, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Oakey is a rural town on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland, about 28km north-west of Toowoomba and 155km west of Brisbane. The town and its creek take their name from the river oaks that line the watercourse. Pastoralists moved into the district in the 1840s, and the arrival of the Western railway line in 1867 spurred the township's growth. Today Oakey is known for two things in particular: the Army Aviation Centre at its airfield, a major helicopter pilot and maintenance training base for the Australian Defence Force, and the champion racehorse Bernborough, foaled locally in 1939, who won fifteen races in a row in 1945 and 1946. The surrounding country supports grain, cattle feedlots, abattoirs and stockfeed production.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Oakey is more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 860, 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.
Oakey at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,756
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,213
- SEIFA score
- 860
- Coordinates
- -27.4507, 151.7105
Oakey demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Oakey 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%, 35% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 958 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 629 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,050 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,192 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 921 | 19% |
Share of the 4,750 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 572 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 487 | 28% |
| Rented | 606 | 35% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,578 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 120 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,707 occupied private dwellings in Oakey.
- Median weekly rent
- $265
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,238
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,463
- Median weekly personal income
- $651
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 440 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 281 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 592 (12%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,340 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.7%
- Employed full-time
- 1,260
- Employed part-time
- 573
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.
Weather and climate in Oakey
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Oakey is January (average daytime high around 29.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 17.7°C). The area receives roughly 605 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.7°C | 18.7°C | 54 mm |
| Feb | 29.1°C | 18.4°C | 74 mm |
| Mar | 27.5°C | 17.9°C | 93 mm |
| Apr | 24.2°C | 14.3°C | 21 mm |
| May | 20.7°C | 10.9°C | 43 mm |
| Jun | 18°C | 8.4°C | 25 mm |
| Jul | 17.7°C | 7.4°C | 28 mm |
| Aug | 19.5°C | 8.1°C | 30 mm |
| Sep | 22.8°C | 10.8°C | 23 mm |
| Oct | 25.8°C | 13.7°C | 70 mm |
| Nov | 28.2°C | 15.8°C | 67 mm |
| Dec | 29.4°C | 17.7°C | 77 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Oakey
Where is Oakey?
Oakey is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Oakey?
At the 2021 Census, Oakey had a population of about 4,756.
Is Oakey an advantaged area?
Oakey has an ABS SEIFA score of 860, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 5 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Oakey?
Oakey has average daytime highs of about 24.4°C and overnight lows of about 13.5°C, with roughly 605 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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