Cunnamulla
The town covers 4,591 square kilometres yet holds just 1,233 residents, giving a density of 0.3 people per km2, far below the national urban average. Nearly half of all dwellings (46.1%) are rented, while 40.4% are owned outright, a split that reflects both the transient workforce servicing healthcare and public administration and long-term residents who bought in decades ago. University qualifications at 16.9% run 13.2 percentage points below the national figure, pointing to a trade and service-sector economy rather than a knowledge-worker base.
Local council: Paroo
Population
1,233
Median Age
40.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$994/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
0
Monthly mortgage repayments average just $729, which produces a mortgage-to-income ratio of 16.9%, well below the 30% stress threshold and lower than most regional towns nationally. Separate houses dominate at 89.8% of dwellings, so buyers have a straightforward choice of stock. Three-bedroom homes account for 44.6% of properties and four-plus bedrooms make up 19.2%, providing reasonable family-sized options. The trade-off is a 15.6% vacancy rate, which is high compared to most owner-occupier markets and signals that demand is constrained by the town's limited employment base.
For Buyers
Monthly mortgage repayments average just $729, which produces a mortgage-to-income ratio of 16.9%, well below the 30% stress threshold and lower than most regional towns nationally. Separate houses dominate at 89.8% of dwellings, so buyers have a straightforward choice of stock. Three-bedroom homes account for 44.6% of properties and four-plus bedrooms make up 19.2%, providing reasonable family-sized options. The trade-off is a 15.6% vacancy rate, which is high compared to most owner-occupier markets and signals that demand is constrained by the town's limited employment base.
For Investors
The rental market in Cunnamulla is proportionally large, with 46.1% of dwellings tenanted, compared to around 30% nationally. However, the 15.6% vacancy rate is a significant risk factor, indicating that supply consistently outpaces demand in this remote town. Healthcare (25.4% of employed residents), Public Administration (19.5%) and Education (15.4%) are the main employers, all government-anchored sectors that provide stable but slow-growing tenant demand. With zero development applications lodged in the past 12 months, new supply is not a concern, but the population of 1,233 means the tenant pool is thin and any employer downsizing would move the vacancy rate sharply higher.
Schools in Cunnamulla
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Sacred Heart Primary School (Cunnamulla)
Cunnamulla P-12 State School
Demographics
The median age is 40, matching the national figure exactly. However, the overseas-born share at 4.8% is 16.8 percentage points below national, reflecting Cunnamulla's inland remote location far from international migration hubs. Ancestry is predominantly Anglo-Celtic, led by English (381 residents), Irish (89) and Scottish (81). University qualifications at 16.9% sit 13.2 points below the national rate, consistent with a regional service economy where trades, care and administration roles are more common than professional occupations. Average household size is 2.3, marginally below the national average of 2.5. Couples with children (371 families) slightly outnumber couples without children (240), and the volunteering rate of 22.2% points to a community with strong local participation relative to its small size.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
89.8%
Houses
5.5%
Townhouse
0.0%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure in Cunnamulla splits between outright owners (40.4%), renters (46.1%) and mortgage holders (13.5%), an unusual pattern where renters outnumber both other groups. Outright ownership at 40.4% is relatively high, indicating a core of long-term residents who purchased when prices were lower. Separate houses account for 89.8% of stock, well above the national average, and semi-detached dwellings make up 5.5%. Three-bedroom homes are the most common at 44.6%, with four-plus bedrooms at 19.2% and two-bedroom at 25.2%. Mortgage-to-income at 16.9% and rent-to-income at 12.6% confirm that housing stress is not a feature of this market.
Mortgage / mo
$729
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$125
Census 2021
HH Size
2.3
Personal Income / wk
$591
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
15.6%
Unoccupied
94
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
12.6%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
16.9%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
33.1%
Couples with children
39.6%
Couples, no children
26.6%
Single parent
308
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare is the largest employment sector at 25.4% of workers (69 people), followed by Public Administration at 19.5% (53) and Education at 15.4% (42), meaning roughly 60% of local jobs are government-funded or government-adjacent. Hospitality employs 6.6% and Retail 6.2%, reflecting the town's role as a service centre for surrounding properties. By occupation, Managers (75), Community and Personal Service workers (72) and Professionals (69) lead, consistent with the healthcare and administration emphasis. The unemployment rate of 6.3% is above the national average, and the participation rate of 48.9% is low, with 386 residents not in the labour force. Personal weekly income of $591 places households at the 12.7th percentile nationally, underscoring how far below average earnings fall in this remote regional economy.
Unemployment
6.0%
Labour Force
487
Unemployed
29
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
65.7%
Part-time
28.4%
Participation
51.8%
Employed
458
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
16.9%
Postgraduate
3.1%
Born Overseas
4.8%
Dwellings
509
Transport to Work
Car dependence is high, with 80.2% of residents driving to work, consistent with a remote town where no public transport network exists. Walking and cycling account for 13.4% of commutes, notably high for a remote town, likely reflecting the compact, walkable scale of Cunnamulla's town centre relative to its vast 4,591 km2 statistical area. No schools are recorded in the suburb brief dataset, so families depend on district-level facilities. The need-for-assistance rate at 6.2% (72 residents) is above the national average, consistent with an older and lower-income demographic. Rent-to-income at 12.6% and mortgage-to-income at 16.9% are both far below the 30% stress benchmark, making housing costs affordable compared to state averages. The volunteering rate of 22.2% indicates an active community relative to its 1,233 population.
Drive
75.4%
Public Transport
N/A
Walk / Cycle
12.6%
Work from Home
6.0%
Growth Outlook
No formal population forecast is available for Cunnamulla, which is typical for very small remote communities below the threshold for reliable modelling. The current population of 1,233 is spread across 4,591 square kilometres and the employment base anchored in government services provides structural stability rather than growth drivers. The labour force participation rate of 48.9% is significantly below the national average, a pattern seen in remote Queensland towns where distance limits job access. The residential turnover rate is 26.8%, with 73.2% of residents remaining at the same address over the census period, suggesting a stable core with steady movement tied to government employment rotations. Zero development applications in the past 12 months confirms that construction activity is absent and the 15.6% vacancy rate points to dwelling supply already exceeding current demand.
Population trend: Paroo council area
Cunnamulla sits in the Paroo council area. These are the council area's residents, not Cunnamulla's.
Residents 2025
1,724
Growth, 5 yr average
+0.5%/yr
2020 to 2025
Growth, last year
+0.1%
2024 to 2025
ABS Estimated Resident Population by LGA, 30 June each year; council area, not this suburb
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Cunnamulla compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cunnamulla a good suburb to live in?
Cunnamulla suits residents who prioritise housing affordability and a rural lifestyle. Household income sits at the 12.7th percentile nationally, but rent-to-income is just 12.6% and mortgage-to-income is 16.9%, both well below the 30% stress level. The town's main limitation is remote location with limited employment outside healthcare, public admin and education, and a 6.3% unemployment rate above the national average.
What is the median house price in Cunnamulla?
Monthly mortgage repayments average $729, producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 16.9%. Weekly rent averages $125, among the lowest in Queensland, giving renters a rent-to-income ratio of 12.6%.
What schools are in Cunnamulla?
No schools are recorded inside the Cunnamulla boundary in this dataset. The university qualification rate locally is 16.9%, which is 13.2 percentage points below the national figure, reflecting the limited access to higher education typical of remote Queensland towns of 1,233 residents.
Is Cunnamulla safe?
Detailed crime statistics are not available for Cunnamulla in this dataset. As a contextual indicator, 6.2% of residents (72 people) need daily assistance and the suburb's economy is anchored in government healthcare and public administration, sectors that together employ 44.9% of the local workforce.
Is Cunnamulla good for property investment?
However, the vacancy rate of 15.6% is elevated, indicating surplus rental stock. Zero development applications in 12 months limits new supply, but the population of just 1,233 also constrains demand growth significantly.
How is Cunnamulla's population changing?
The current population is 1,233 across 4,591 square kilometres, giving a density of 0.3 persons per km2. No formal growth forecast is available. The residential turnover rate is 26.8%, with 73.2% of residents remaining at the same address over the census period, suggesting a stable core with steady movement tied to government employment rotations.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state education open registers (school locations), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications).
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