Mount Low

Development Activity

Demographics

The median age of 29 runs 11.0 years below the national figure, marking a young, family-forming population rather than an aging one. Average household size is 3.0 people, 0.5 above national, consistent with the 2,603 couple-with-children families that dominate the area. The community is notably Anglo-leaning: only 9.2% of residents were born overseas, 12.4 points below national, and ancestry is led by English (2,164), Scottish (608) and Irish (601). University qualifications reach 19.1%, which is 11 points below national, reflecting a workforce weighted toward trades, health and administration rather than knowledge professions. Christianity is the dominant faith at 2,422 residents, with Buddhism a distant second at 24, underscoring how concentrated the cultural profile is compared to more migrant-heavy suburbs.

Tenure tilts heavily toward recent buyers: 51.3% carry a mortgage, 35.9% rent and only 12.8% own outright, a split that reflects how new the housing stock is in a suburb that grew 87.4% over the decade. The form is overwhelmingly detached, with 97.5% separate houses and just 2.5% semi-detached, and dwellings run large, with 72.0% offering four or more bedrooms and 26.6% three bedrooms. That affordability is the structural draw: families can buy a four-bedroom house here for a fraction of what comparable space costs in capital-city markets.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

Healthcare is the dominant employer at 20.2% (376 workers), followed by Public Administration at 12.9% (241), Construction at 12.5% (234) and Education at 11.3% (211), a mix typical of a Townsville regional centre with a large public and defence-adjacent presence. By occupation the workforce leans practical: Community and Personal Service (433), Clerical and Administrative (432) and Professionals (424) lead, with Machinery Operators and Drivers at 261. Unemployment is low at 4.3% and full-time employment runs at 71.4%, with participation at 71.3%. SEIFA tells a layered story: IER sits at decile 8 and IRSD at decile 8, both strong, while IEO is only decile 5 because education and occupation scores are pulled down by the 19.1% university rate, leaving IRSAD at a mid decile 6 overall.

Transport to Work

Daily life here is car-centred: 92.6% of commuters drive, while public transport carries just 1.2% and active travel 0.7%, far below the national mix and a direct consequence of the low-density, 679.3-per-km2 greenfield layout. SEIFA supports a comfortable picture, with IRSD at decile 8 for relative disadvantage and IER at decile 8 for economic resources, both well above the midpoint. Only 4.2% of residents (218 people) need daily assistance despite a fast-growing population, and volunteering runs at 11.6%. No schools are recorded inside the 8.08 km2 boundary in this dataset, so families rely on facilities in neighbouring Townsville suburbs, a practical trade-off for the space and affordability the area otherwise delivers.

Population Forecast

Mount Low is a textbook high-growth corridor. Population rose 87.4% over the past decade and the trend forecast continues at 3.53% a year, adding about 784 residents annually toward a projected 27,460 across its broader catchment by 2031. Internal migration of 252 a year is the primary driver, with overseas migration contributing a further 71, so growth is fuelled by Australians relocating rather than international arrivals. The gentrification stage reads as new development rather than displacement, fitting a young suburb building out greenfield land. Affordability has improved from 43.2% of income in 2011 to 34.9% in 2021, and real incomes grew 1.4%, so expansion is happening alongside, not at the expense of, household purchasing power.

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How Mount Low compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

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