QLD · Gladstone Council

Toolooa, 4680

Est. population · Jun 2025

1,063

Growth (1 yr)

+1.1%

Growth (5 yr)

+5.0%

Median age

35

Median income

$988/wk

Employment rate

44.3%

University qualified

4.6%

Work from home

2.1%

Languages at home

1.8%non-English

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

37/100
Below average

1011th in QLD

Verified 85% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Green suburb
  • Port & industry
What Toolooa is known for: Green suburb, Port & industry

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Toolooa, QLD suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Cite this suburb snapshot

Suburb Guide, “Toolooa, QLD Suburb Guide”, updated 2 October 2026, https://suburb.guide/qld/toolooa

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Suburb profile

Toolooa is an industrial and port town in Queensland, in Gladstone Council. It has an industrial and port economy.

Local amenities are a relative strength. School access is a very strong feature of the suburb, with school access 50% above the peer median. Green cover is an exceptional strength, placing it among the highest-ranked industrial and port towns. Socio-economic advantage sits below the peer median.

Overall, Toolooa suits people prioritising school access and local amenities over socio-economic advantage.

Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Industrial or port town · compared with industrial and port towns in Queensland (230)

Strengths

  • Green cover is a relative strength
  • School access is a relative strength
  • Local amenities are a relative strength

Weaknesses

  • Socio-economic advantage sits below the peer median

What stands out

  • Industrial and port economy

Who it suits

  • Families
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • StudentsInsufficient data
  • Budget buyersInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How Toolooa compares

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

—

No data available

Median rent (Census)

$189/wk

2021 Census median weekly rent

Population (ERP)

1,063

+1.1% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

10.5%

Census unoccupied dwellings

Livability profile

Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Desirability

#124

among Country & regional · Emerging

Crime rate

67th

percentile in state (higher = more crime)

Pop. growth

50th

percentile in QLD

Rented dwellings

42%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

1/10

national SEIFA decile

School ICSEA

25th

percentile among schools with ICSEA

Population growth

Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years

Housing mix

Dwelling types from the 2021 Census

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Desirability

Ranks & confidence
Desirability score
37.0/100 — Below average
National rank
5178th in Australia
State rank
1011th in QLD
Peer rank
#124 among Country & regional · Emerging suburbs
Cohort rank
#552 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
85%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Population

Estimated resident population

1,063(June 2025)

+1.1% annual · +5.0% over 5 years · 50th percentile in QLD

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+1.1%
5-year growth
+5.0%
Change in 1 year
+12
Change in 5 years
+51
Growth rank in QLD
50th percentile

ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.

Methodology

Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.

The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~1,150), extrapolated at +1.2% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
992
Median age
35
Median household income / week
$988
Dwelling vacancy
10.5%
Unoccupied private dwellings
42 of 401
Median monthly mortgage
$1,300
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$189
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
25.7% / 32.6% / 41.7%
Employment rate
44.3%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
2.1% / 0.9% / 79.1%
Walked or cycled to work
0.9%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
354 / 0 / 7

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)

Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

  • Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Qualifications

4.6% of adults have a university degree, compared with 21.9% across Queensland. 24.3% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified4.6% · 21.9% QLD
  • Diploma qualified3% · 9.4% QLD
  • Trade / vocational24.3% · 18.9% QLD
  • Year 12 or below68.1% · 49.8% QLD

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Engineering and related technologies28.1%
  • Management and commerce19%
  • Society and culture11.3%
  • Food, hospitality and personal services10.9%
  • Education8.4%
  • Architecture and building7.7%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below

People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

University qualifications from the 2021 Census

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Tax & income

Median taxable income (2023–24)
$67,670

87th percentile in QLD · +15% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$76,298

92nd percentile in QLD · +17% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
10.0%

35th percentile in QLD · -27% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$83,055

74th percentile in QLD · +31% vs Australia

Residents with business income
6.0%

5th percentile in QLD · -42% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 4680 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.

Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
35,056
Taxpayers reporting net rent
3,473
Median net rent
-$1,780
Taxpayers reporting business income
2,069
Taxable income vs state median
+22%
Salary / wages vs state median
+25%
Rental investment vs state median
-9%
Super vs state median
+20%
Business income vs state median
-40%

Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in QLD, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.

Data sources & freshness

  • Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary

Community & culture

1.8% speak a language other than English at home; 9.5% born overseas

Language at home
853 English only · 16 other
Non-English at home
1.8%
Born overseas
82 (9.5%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
159 (16%)
Australian citizens
840

Religion

49.7%No religion

No religion is the most common response at 49.7%, while Christianity accounts for 34.7%.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion49.7%40.7%
Christianity34.7%45.7%
Other / not stated15.6%13.6%
Christian denominations
DenominationSuburbState
Anglican11.2%11.3%
Catholic9.9%18.6%
Presbyterian and Reformed3.6%2.1%
Uniting Church3.4%3.6%
Christian (not further defined)2.4%3.1%
Baptist2.1%1.7%

2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Offence counts are estimated for this suburb from postcode 4680, which is shared with other suburbs.

Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2026 to Sep 2026)
68
Against the person
16
Against property
25
Rate per 1,000 residents (annualised)
85.6
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 62 residents
State crime-rate percentile
67.4th (higher = more crime)
Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
-12.6%

Most common offence types

  • Assault7
  • Drug Offences12
  • Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)13
  • Traffic And Related Offences11
  • Good Order Offences8

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

  • QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Sep 2026; Jan 2026 to Sep 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
3
Median school ICSEA (3 schools)
950
Median ICSEA percentile
25th
Primary catchments overlapping suburb
2
Secondary catchments overlapping suburb
1
School list
  • Toolooa State High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 950 · 25th percentile · LBOTE 10% · 1,165 students · Top SEA quarter 6% · 1.2 km awayView on My School →
  • Kin Kora State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 929 · 18th percentile · LBOTE 7% · 783 students · Top SEA quarter 4% · 1.7 km awayView on My School →
  • Trinity CollegeCombined · Independent · ICSEA 1034 · 61th percentile · LBOTE 28% · 607 students · Top SEA quarter 21% · 1.9 km awayView on My School →
School catchments
  • Gladstone South SSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment
  • Kin Kora SSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment
  • Toolooa SHSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundarysecondary_catchment

Government school intake zones that overlap this suburb boundary. Living in a catchment does not guarantee enrolment; check the education authority.

Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)

Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts

Data sources & freshness

Amenities

10 mapped amenities

1 places of worship · 1 playgrounds · 1 sports centres

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
  • Decent local green space — 1 parks in suburb, 1 playgrounds nearby
Walkability proxy
0/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
1.01
Sport & outdoors(8)
  • Biondello NE TrailCycling route
  • Sunshine 1Cycling route
  • Sunshine 2Cycling route
  • Toms TrackCycling route
  • Toolooa ParkPark

    43 Dalrymple Drive

  • Playground
  • CQ Mariner's Football GroundsSports centre
  • Sports field
Other(2)
  • Parking
  • Shed 19 Christian ChurchPlace of worship

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Parks & reserves

1 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Toolooa ParkPark

Data sources & freshness

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
49%
Woodland / forest cover
48.4%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
7
Parks (OSM)
1
Typical summer maximum
31°C

Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)

Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries

Places of worship

1 places of worship within ~1.5 km

  • Shed 19 Christian Church

From OpenStreetMap within ~1.5 km of the suburb centre.

Data sources & freshness

Health access

Nearest hospital
Tara Place Family Practice (11.1 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
GP clinics in suburb
0

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
40
Participants per 1,000 residents
37.6

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
31° / 21°
Rainfall
396 mm · ~50 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
28° / 17°
Rainfall
198 mm · ~25 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
23° / 10°
Rainfall
95 mm · ~12 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
28° / 16°
Rainfall
185 mm · ~23 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
No overlay at centroid
Flood / inundation overlay
No mapped inundation on suburb boundary

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping. Flood cover uses floodplain overlay polygons against the suburb boundary where published.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Bushfire and flood planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Flynn
Member of Parliament
Colin BOYCE (Liberal National Party of Queensland)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
117,901
Turnout (2025)
88.6%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
-6.4 pp toward Coalition

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 60.2%Labor 39.8%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 11.0 km away).

Coalition 45.9%Labor 54.1%

14.4 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: -11.1 pp toward Coalition

Nearest polling places

  • Kin KoraLabor 53.2% · Coalition 46.8% TPP (2025)1.1 km away
  • South GladstoneLabor 56.3% · Coalition 43.7% TPP (2025)2.6 km away
  • West GladstoneLabor 58.3% · Coalition 41.7% TPP (2025)3.3 km away
  • West Gladstone SouthLabor 56.5% · Coalition 43.5% TPP (2025)3.3 km away
  • Gladstone CentralLabor 52.3% · Coalition 47.7% TPP (2025)4.5 km away

Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
1/10
IRSD decile (2021)
1/10

ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?

IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.

IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.

A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

Compare with

Similar suburbs to weigh up side by side — scores, safety, schools, and lifestyle.

More in Gladstone Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.