Palm Island, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Palm Island is more socio-economically advantaged than about 1% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 707, 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.
Palm Island at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,138
- Median age
- 27
- Median weekly household income
- $973
- SEIFA score
- 707
- Coordinates
- -18.7266, 146.6059
Palm Island demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Palm Island 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 31%, 92% of homes are rented, and 2% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 656 | 31% |
| Youth (15–24) | 343 | 16% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 566 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 450 | 21% |
| Seniors (65+) | 116 | 5% |
Share of the 2,131 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 8 | 2% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 0 | 0% |
| Rented | 454 | 92% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 427 | 87% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 40 | 8% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 489 occupied private dwellings in Palm Island.
- Median weekly rent
- $125
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Average household size
- 3.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $898
- Median weekly personal income
- $384
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 44 (2%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 864 (43%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,918 (90%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 391 (27%)
- Labour-force participation
- 27.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 10.4%
- Employed full-time
- 195
- Employed part-time
- 123
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 Palm Island
Where is Palm Island?
Palm Island is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Palm Island?
At the 2021 Census, Palm Island had a population of about 2,138.
Is Palm Island an advantaged area?
Palm Island has an ABS SEIFA score of 707, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 1 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 1% of Australian suburbs.
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