Mount Isa

This is a remarkably young community where children under 15 make up 23.6% of the population. Seniors are much less common than in the rest of the state, with those aged 65 and over falling to 8.2%, and de facto relationships are well above the national figure.

The local population is more diverse than most similar areas, with 16.6% born overseas. While Australian and English are the most common ancestries, there is a notable presence of people born in New Zealand and the Philippines.

About 9.9% of residents use a language other than English at home, a figure that has risen since 2016. Despite this, the vast majority speak only English, and very few people speak little or no English.

People with no religion make up 41.1% of the community, which is about the same as the Queensland average. This figure has risen by 7.5 points since 2016, while Christianity remains the most common affiliation at 45.5%.

The area has a higher proportion of adults with a bachelor degree or higher than most similar places, though this is still far below the national figure. Qualifications are heavily skewed toward engineering and related fields, which account for 24.5% of degrees.

Earnings are very high here, with the typical family income of $2,629 per week well above the national figure. Since 2016, the proportion of households earning $3,000 or more a week has surged by 24 points to 29.3%.

Residents report much better health than those in most similar areas, with only 20.7% having a long-term health condition. The number of people needing help with daily activities also fell significantly to 3.3%.

Unpaid care for children is more common here than in most areas, but other forms of volunteering and unpaid care have fallen since 2016. This is consistent with a younger population focused on young families.

Families tend to be larger, with 2.6 people per home. One-parent families are more common than in the rest of the state, and 57.2% of households consist of couples with children.

Renting is very common, with 46.2% of households renting, far above the national figure. Because of this, fewer homes are owned outright compared to most areas, and the typical weekly rent of $275 is well below the national average.

The community is heavily dependent on cars, with only 0.2% of people using public transport for commuting. Working from home is also very rare at 1.9%, far below the national figure.

The population is quite mobile, as 43.4% of people moved in the last five years. There has been a significant increase in recent arrivals from overseas, which rose to 18.1% since 2016.

The job market is very strong, with 73.3% of people employed full-time—far above the national figure. This is driven by the mining industry, where 30.4% of the workforce is employed.

The area is mostly car-dependent, with a walkability score far below the state average. While most people live within a short walk of a park or school, very few have easy walking access to groceries or health services.