QLD · Western Downs Council
Wandoan, 4419
Current weather
18.6°COvercast
75% humidity · 3.6 km/h wind · 19.2° / 13.2° today · 0.9 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- National parks
- Green suburb
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Wandoan offers a slower smaller community life in Western Downs, with open surrounds and a close-knit community feel. Distance from the capital is part of the appeal, with wide open surrounds and a self-contained community rhythm. The landscape itself is part of the lifestyle: open paddocks, big skies and room to breathe.
A younger crowd gives the area energy, with plenty of young families in the mix. Life here is grounded in local routine rather than big-city choice, and that is part of the charm. Homes are relatively affordable, which helps families and first-time residents put down roots.
The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
On the desirability index, the suburb sits below average overall, mainly because housing affordability and local dining and lifestyle amenities lag similar regional towns, despite relative strength in transport and access. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 666
- Median age
- 31
- Median household income / week
- $1,243
- Dwelling vacancy
- 40.6%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 138 of 340
- Median monthly mortgage
- $712
- Employment rate
- 53.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 19 / 15 / 14
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 28
- Against the person
- 5
- Against property
- 8
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 42
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 133 residents
- State safety percentile
- 55.4th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
- -0.3%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Drug Offences7
- Other Offences Against The Person4
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)8
- Traffic And Related Offences11
- Trespassing And Vagrancy4
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 915
- Wandoan State School P-10Combined
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Planning & development
Development applications from QLD coordinated projects (lodged 2020–2026).
1 planning-related records
Other· 1 proposal
- Wandoan Coal ProjectOpen-cut thermal coal mine producing 30 million tonnes per annum; and supporting infrastructure.Completed EIS project
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- QLD coordinated projects — Queensland Department of State Development · Period: 2020–2026 · Updated on site · State coordinated projects register (not council DAs)
Amenities
2 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Parking (2)
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
3 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Apex ParkPark
- O'Sullivan Memorial ParkPark
- Waterloo Plains Environmental ParkNature reserve
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 2
- Emergency department
- On site
- The Wandoan Pharmacypharmacy
- Wandoan Hospitalhospital
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 1/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 1/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 3
- Parks (OSM)
- 3
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 26.2/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 5902nd in Australia
- State rank
- 1360th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #467 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #847 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 75%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Parkingamenitiesparking
- Parkingamenitiesparking
- Drug Offencescrime7
- Other Offences Against The Personcrime4
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)crime8
- Traffic And Related Offencescrime11
- Trespassing And Vagrancycrime4
- The Wandoan Pharmacyhealthpharmacy
- Wandoan Hospitalhealthhospital
- Apex Parkgovernmentpark
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Updated on site
More in Western Downs Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.