Mount Isa property market: the official numbers
The official read on Mount Isa, QLD: who lives there, what they pay in rent and repayments, and where the jobs are. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
Mount Isa rented at a median $275/wk in 2021 — 27% below the national median. The typical repayment was $1,546 a month against $1,192 in rent — a middling gap, neither bargain nor squeeze.
The key numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 16% of the median household income. One caveat before you compare: everything here is August 2021. Repayments in particular have jumped since the 2022–24 rate rises. Treat these as a ranking tool, not a price tag.
The rent-or-buy gap
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,192 against a typical mortgage repayment of $1,546:
What this gap does and doesn't tell you
The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?
How Mount Isa houses itself
Renters are 45.6% of Mount Isa households. If you're buying to let, that's the depth of your market — a deep pool by national standards.
Who lives here
What the age mix means for housing
A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Mount Isa's median age of 31 sits below the national median of 38.
What the local economy runs on
mining employs 30.5% of Mount Isa's 9,178 workers (Census 2021). Local housing demand rises and falls with it.
What it costs to buy in QLD
Current sale prices live behind licensed feeds we won't republish. The costs of buying don't — they're public and exact:
- Stamp duty in Queensland — exact duty and first-home-buyer concessions.
- What can I afford? — borrowing power, price range and all-in upfront cash.
- The official QLD price trend — ABS state-level values since 2011, interactive.
Quick answers
What is the median rent in Mount Isa?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Mount Isa was $275 a week — 27% below the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Mount Isa?
18,317 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 31 (national median: 38). Mount Isa is one of Queensland's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Mount Isa do for work?
The biggest employing industry is mining, followed by health care & social assistance (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
So, who buys here?
Your call
Rent covered roughly 77% of the typical repayment here — a middling shape. Owner-occupiers do fine in markets like this; an investor needs a sharper reason to pick it. And be honest about size: 18,317 people is a thin market — fewer sales, fewer buyers when you want out, and longer waits at both ends.
Everything above is August 2021 — before you act, pull current asking rents, vacancy and listing volumes for Mount Isa. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the Queensland stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.
Other QLD markets
Brisbane · Gold Coast - Tweed Heads · Sunshine Coast · Townsville · Cairns · Toowoomba
All cities & hubs: the full directory.
General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Mount Isa, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.