Chelmer - Graceville
Statistical Area - sa2

Population growth drivers in Chelmer - Graceville are strong compared to national averages based on AreaSearch's ranking of recent, and medium to long-term trends

As of Aug 2025, Chelmer - Graceville's population is approximately 8,073, reflecting a growth of 224 people since the 2021 Census. This increase represents a 2.9% rise from the previous population count of 7,849. The estimated resident population in June 2024 was 8,059, with an additional 6 validated new addresses post-Census contributing to this growth. This results in a population density of 2,491 persons per square kilometer, placing Chelmer - Graceville in the upper quartile nationally according to AreaSearch's assessments. Overseas migration accounted for approximately 94.1% of recent population gains in the area.

AreaSearch uses ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data and years post-2032, Queensland State Government's SA2 area projections from 2023, based on 2021 data, are adopted. However, these state projections lack age category splits, so AreaSearch applies proportional growth weightings aligned with ABS Greater Capital Region projections released in 2023 and based on 2022 data for each age cohort. Looking ahead, Chelmer - Graceville is projected to increase by approximately 636 persons to reach a population of around 8,719 by 2041. This represents an overall increase of about 7.7% over the 17-year period.

AreaSearch assessment of residential development drivers sees a low level of activity in Chelmer - Graceville, placing the area among the bottom 25% of areas assessed nationally

Chelmer-Graceville has recorded approximately 22 residential property approvals annually over the past five financial years, totalling 111 homes. As of FY-26, 5 approvals have been granted. The population has declined in recent years, yet housing supply has remained adequate relative to demand, resulting in a balanced market with good buyer choice. New properties are constructed at an average cost of $874,000, indicating developers target the premium market segment.

In FY-26, commercial approvals amounted to $771,000, suggesting minimal commercial development activity. Compared to Greater Brisbane, Chelmer-Graceville shows around 58% of construction activity per person and ranks in the 36th percentile nationally, implying limited buyer options but strengthening demand for established properties. Recent building activity consists solely of standalone homes, preserving the area's suburban nature and attracting space-seeking buyers. The location has approximately 461 people per dwelling approval, reflecting its established character.

Population forecasts project Chelmer-Graceville to gain 622 residents by 2041. With current construction levels, housing supply should meet demand adequately, creating favourable conditions for buyers while potentially enabling growth that exceeds current forecasts.

Chelmer - Graceville has strong levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 40% nationally

Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified ten projects that could impact this region. Notable ones are the Centenary Motorway Bypass, Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, The Audrey, and Ethereal Residences. The following details these projects in order of likely relevance.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

AreaSearch analysis of employment trends sees Chelmer - Graceville performing better than 90% of local markets assessed across Australia

Chelmer - Graceville has an educated workforce with professional services well-represented. As of June 2025, its unemployment rate is 1.4%.

In comparison to Greater Brisbane's 4.1% rate, Chelmer - Graceville's rate is 2.6% lower, while its workforce participation stands at 68.7%, slightly higher than Greater Brisbane's 64.5%. Key employment sectors among residents include professional & technical services, health care & social assistance, and education & training. Notably, the area has a high concentration of professional & technical jobs, with levels 1.9 times the regional average. Conversely, construction is under-represented, comprising only 5.7% of the workforce compared to Greater Brisbane's 9.0%.

The predominantly residential area offers limited local employment opportunities, as evidenced by the Census working population vs resident population count. Between June 2024 and June 2025, labour force levels decreased by 1.5%, while employment declined by 1.3%, resulting in a 0.2 percentage point drop in unemployment rate. In contrast, Greater Brisbane saw employment growth of 4.4% and labour force growth of 4.0%, with unemployment falling by 0.4 percentage points. State-level data from Sep-25 shows Queensland's employment contracted by 0.23% (losing 8,070 jobs), with an unemployment rate of 4.2%, compared to the national rate of 4.5%. National employment forecasts from May 2025 project a 6.6% increase over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Chelmer - Graceville's employment mix suggests local growth of approximately 7.3% over five years and 14.7% over ten years, although these are simple extrapolations for illustrative purposes.

The economic profile demonstrates exceptional strength, placing the area among the top 10% nationally based on comprehensive AreaSearch income analysis

AreaSearch aggregated latest postcode level ATO data released for financial year 2022. Chelmer - Graceville's median taxpayer income was $61,595 with an average of $93,473. Nationally, these figures are high compared to Greater Brisbane's median and average incomes of $55,645 and $70,520 respectively. By March 2025, estimated median and average incomes would be approximately $68,808 and $104,419 based on Wage Price Index growth of 11.71% since financial year 2022. Census 2021 income data shows Chelmer - Graceville's household, family, and personal incomes rank highly nationally, between the 93rd and 98th percentiles. Income distribution in Chelmer - Graceville is predominantly in the $4000+ category, with 38.1% of locals (3,075 people) falling into this bracket, unlike the surrounding region where the $1,500 - 2,999 category predominates at 33.3%. Reflecting affluence, 52.8% earn over $3,000 per week, supporting premium retail and service offerings. After housing costs, residents retain 88.2% of income, indicating strong purchasing power. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 10th decile.

Chelmer - Graceville is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

In Chelmer-Graceville, as per the latest Census, 90.5% of dwellings were houses, with the remaining 9.5% consisting of semi-detached homes, apartments, and other types. In contrast, Brisbane metropolitan area had 48.9% houses and 51.1% other dwellings. Home ownership in Chelmer-Graceville stood at 37.4%, with mortgaged properties at 43.2% and rented ones at 19.4%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,800, higher than Brisbane's average of $2,167. The median weekly rent in the area was $490, compared to Brisbane's $410. Nationally, Chelmer-Graceville's mortgage repayments were significantly higher at $2,800 versus Australia's average of $1,863, and rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

Chelmer - Graceville features high concentrations of family households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households account for 80.9% of all households, consisting of 46.9% couples with children, 23.8% couples without children, and 9.2% single parent families. Non-family households make up the remaining 19.1%, with lone person households at 16.1% and group households comprising 3.0% of the total. The median household size is 2.9 people, larger than the Greater Brisbane average of 2.5.

Chelmer - Graceville shows strong educational performance, ranking in the upper quartile nationally when assessed across multiple qualification and achievement indicators

Educational attainment in Chelmer-Graceville is notably high, with 55.9% of residents aged 15+ holding university qualifications, compared to 25.7% in Queensland (QLD) and 30.4% nationally as of the latest statistics. This educational advantage is reflected in various qualification levels: Bachelor degrees at 34.9%, postgraduate qualifications at 15.3%, and graduate diplomas at 5.7%. Vocational pathways account for 18.8% of qualifications among those aged 15+, with advanced diplomas at 8.9% and certificates at 9.9%. Educational participation is high, with 35.5% of residents currently enrolled in formal education, including 12.2% in primary, 11.1% in secondary, and 7.9% pursuing tertiary education.

As of the latest enrollment figures, Chelmer-Graceville's three schools have a combined total of 1,320 students. The area demonstrates above-average socio-educational conditions with an ICSEA score of 1079. Education provision is balanced with two primary and one secondary school serving distinct age groups. School places per 100 residents stand at 16.4, lower than the regional average of 26.1, suggesting some students may attend schools in adjacent areas.

Transport servicing is high compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Chelmer-Graceville has 35 active public transport stops, serving a mix of train and bus routes. These stops are serviced by 78 individual routes, providing 3,423 weekly passenger trips in total. Residents' average distance to the nearest stop is 251 meters, indicating good accessibility.

There are approximately 489 daily trips across all routes, equating to around 97 weekly trips per individual stop.

Chelmer - Graceville's residents are extremely healthy with younger cohorts in particular seeing very low prevalence of common health conditions

Analysis of health metrics indicates strong performance throughout Chelmer - Graceville. Younger cohorts particularly exhibit low prevalence of common health conditions.

Approximately 68% of the total population (5,505 people) have private health cover, exceeding the national average of 55.3%. The most prevalent medical conditions are mental health issues and asthma, affecting 7.5 and 6.9% of residents respectively. A total of 73.9% of residents report being completely clear of medical ailments, similar to Greater Brisbane's 74.7%. The area has a higher proportion of seniors aged 65 and over at 16.3% (1,315 people), compared to Greater Brisbane's 14.4%. Health outcomes among seniors require additional attention despite being above average.

The level of cultural diversity witnessed in Chelmer - Graceville was found to be above average when compared nationally for a number of language and cultural background related metrics

Chelmer-Graceville has a higher than average cultural diversity, with 12.8% of its population speaking languages other than English at home and 25.0% born overseas. Christianity is the predominant religion in Chelmer-Graceville, comprising 52.0%. Judaism's representation stands out at 0.3%, compared to the region's 0.3%.

The top three ancestry groups are English (28.4%), Australian (23.1%), and Irish (10.8%). Scottish ancestry is notably higher than regional averages, at 10.1% versus 8.7%. Welsh ancestry is also somewhat overrepresented at 0.8%, compared to the regional average of 0.6%, as is South African ancestry at 0.9% versus 0.7%.

Chelmer - Graceville's population is slightly older than the national pattern

The median age in Chelmer - Graceville is 40 years, which is higher than Greater Brisbane's average of 36 years and modestly exceeds the national average of 38 years. Compared to Greater Brisbane, the 45-54 cohort is notably over-represented at 16.7% locally, while the 25-34 year-olds are under-represented at 7.4%. Post-2021 Census data shows that the 15-24 age group has grown from 13.4% to 15.6%, and the 75-84 cohort has increased from 4.2% to 5.7%. Conversely, the 5-14 cohort has declined from 17.3% to 16.0%, and the 0-4 group has dropped from 5.2% to 4.0%. Population forecasts for 2041 indicate substantial demographic changes in Chelmer - Graceville. Leading this shift, the 75-84 age group is expected to grow by 59% (270 people), reaching 728 from 457. This growth is part of an overall demographic aging trend, with residents aged 65 and older representing 61% of anticipated population growth. Conversely, the 0-4 and 25-34 age cohorts are expected to experience population declines.