Wishart
Statistical Area - sa2

An assessment of population growth drivers in Wishart reveals an overall ranking slightly below national averages considering recent, and medium term trends

Wishart's population, as of August 2025, is approximately 11,962 people. This figure represents an increase of 4.5%, or 518 individuals, since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 11,444. The estimated resident population from ABS in June 2024 was 11,916, with an additional 25 validated new addresses contributing to this increase. This results in a population density ratio of 2,497 persons per square kilometer, placing Wishart among the upper quartile locations assessed by AreaSearch nationally. Overseas migration accounted for approximately 93.4% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch uses ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered or years post-2032, Queensland State Government's SA2 area projections from 2023, based on 2021 data, are adopted. Proportional growth weightings align with ABS Greater Capital Region projections released in 2023, based on 2022 data, for each age cohort where state projections lack age category splits. Future population dynamics anticipate a decline of 122 persons by 2041, but specific age cohorts like the 85 and over group are projected to grow by 280 people.

Residential development activity is lower than average in Wishart according to AreaSearch's national comparison of local real estate markets

Wishart's average annual dwelling approvals over the past five financial years (FY-21 to FY-25) were around 17. The ABS reports a total of 86 approvals during this period, with 2 so far in FY-26. Each year, approximately 3 people moved to Wishart for each dwelling built between FY-21 and FY-25. This supply-demand imbalance has led to heightened buyer competition and pricing pressures.

Developers target the premium market segment, constructing new properties at an average expected construction cost value of $818,000. Commercial approvals this financial year totalled $8.4 million, indicating Wishart's primarily residential nature. Relative to Greater Brisbane, Wishart records significantly lower building activity (78.0% below regional average per person). This constrained new construction typically reinforces demand and pricing for existing dwellings. Nationally, Wishart's building activity is also below average, suggesting possible planning constraints.

Recent development has been entirely standalone homes, preserving Wishart's suburban nature and attracting space-seeking buyers. Detached housing demand remains robust (78.0% at Census), despite current patterns favouring other dwelling types less. Wishart's population density is around 580 people per approval, indicating a mature, established area. With stable or declining population expected, housing pressure may reduce, potentially creating buying opportunities.

Wishart has strong levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 40% nationally

Changes in local infrastructure significantly affect an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 13 projects likely to impact the area. Notable ones include Chelva Street Road Renewal, Kehoe Street Residential Building, Wishart Heights, and Michelle Crescent Road Renewal. The following list details those most relevant.

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

Employment performance in Wishart exceeds national averages across key labour market indicators

Wishart's workforce is highly educated with significant representation in essential services sectors. The unemployment rate was 3.1% as of June 2025, lower than the national average.

Employment growth over the past year was estimated at 1.6%. As of June 2025, there were 6,147 residents employed with an unemployment rate of 1.0%, below Greater Brisbane's rate of 4.1%. Workforce participation was on par with Greater Brisbane's 64.5%. Employment is concentrated in health care & social assistance, education & training, and professional & technical services.

Wishart has a particularly strong specialization in education & training, with an employment share of 1.3 times the regional level. However, construction employs only 7.7% of local workers, below Greater Brisbane's 9.0%. Over the 12 months to June 2025, employment increased by 1.6%, while labour force increased by 1.8%, causing the unemployment rate to rise by 0.2 percentage points. By comparison, Greater Brisbane recorded employment growth of 4.4% and a fall in unemployment by 0.4 percentage points. State-level data to Sep-25 shows Queensland's employment contracted by 0.23% (losing 8,070 jobs), with the state unemployment rate at 4.2%. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May 2025 suggest potential future demand within Wishart. These projections estimate national employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years, but growth rates differ significantly between industry sectors. Applying these industry-specific projections to Wishart's employment mix suggests local growth of approximately 6.8%% over five years and 14.1% over ten years.

Income analysis reveals strong economic positioning, with the area outperforming 60% of locations assessed nationally by AreaSearch

AreaSearch's aggregation of the latest postcode level ATO data released for financial year 2022 shows Wishart had a median income among taxpayers of $55,864 with an average level of $68,418. This is above the national average and compares to levels of $55,645 and $70,520 across Greater Brisbane respectively. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 11.71% since financial year 2022, current estimates would be approximately $62,406 (median) and $76,430 (average) as of March 2025. According to the 2021 Census figures, household income ranks at the 67th percentile ($2,017 weekly), while personal income sits at the 46th percentile. The data shows that the largest segment comprises 34.4% earning $1,500 - 2,999 weekly (4,114 residents). Housing accounts for 13.8% of income. Residents rank within the 70th percentile for disposable income and the area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 7th decile.

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

Wishart's dwellings, as per the latest Census, consisted of 77.6% houses and 22.4% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings). This compares to Brisbane metro's 74.0% houses and 26.0% other dwellings. Wishart's home ownership rate was 37.4%, with mortgaged dwellings at 36.3% and rented ones at 26.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment in Wishart was $1,959, below Brisbane metro's average of $2,100. Median weekly rent in Wishart was $440, compared to Brisbane metro's $420. Nationally, Wishart's mortgage repayments were higher than the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

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

Family households constitute 80.6% of all households, including 44.3% couples with children, 23.0% couples without children, and 12.1% single parent families. Non-family households account for the remaining 19.4%, with lone person households at 17.2% and group households comprising 2.1%. The median household size is 2.9 people, larger than the Greater Brisbane average of 2.8.

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

Wishart's educational attainment is notably high, with 39.5% of residents aged 15 and above holding university qualifications, compared to 25.7% in Queensland (QLD) and 30.4% nationally. Bachelor degrees are the most common, at 25.5%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (10.5%) and graduate diplomas (3.5%). Vocational credentials are also prominent, with 27.0% of residents aged 15 and above holding such qualifications – advanced diplomas (11.1%) and certificates (15.9%). Educational participation is high, with 33.8% of residents currently enrolled in formal education, including 11.3% in secondary, 11.2% in primary, and 6.0% in tertiary education.

Wishart's three schools have a combined enrollment of 2,220 students. The area has significant socio-educational advantages and academic achievement (ICSEA: 1101). Educational facilities include two primary schools and one K-12 school. School places per 100 residents in Wishart (18.6) are below the regional average (24.9), suggesting some students may attend schools in nearby areas.

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

Wishart has 44 active public transport stops, all of which are bus stops. These stops are served by 9 different routes that together facilitate 1,422 weekly passenger trips. The area's transport accessibility is considered good, with residents located an average of 208 meters from the nearest stop.

The overall service frequency is 203 trips per day across all routes, which translates to approximately 32 weekly trips per individual stop.

Wishart's residents are extremely healthy with both young and old age cohorts seeing low prevalence of common health conditions

Analysis of health metrics shows strong performance throughout Wishart.

Both young and old age cohorts saw low prevalence of common health conditions. The rate of private health cover was found to be fairly high at approximately 54% of the total population (~6,423 people). The most common medical conditions in the area were arthritis and asthma, impacting 6.4% and 6.4% of residents respectively, while 74.1% declared themselves completely clear of medical ailments compared to 75.7% across Greater Brisbane. Wishart has 16.9% of residents aged 65 and over (2,020 people), which is higher than the 14.3% in Greater Brisbane. Health outcomes among seniors are above average, broadly in line with the general population's health profile.

Wishart is among the most culturally diverse areas in the country based on AreaSearch assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics

Wishart has high cultural diversity, with 41.4% of its population born overseas and 39.5% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity is the dominant religion in Wishart, comprising 51.7%. Buddhism, however, is overrepresented compared to Greater Brisbane, making up 4.5% versus the regional average of 4.5%.

The top three ancestry groups are English (19.6%), Australian (18.4%), and Chinese (12.7%). Notably, Korean (2.4%) and Sri Lankan (0.8%) ethnicities are overrepresented in Wishart compared to Greater Brisbane at 2.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Similarly, Russian ethnicity is slightly higher than the regional average, with 0.6% versus 0.5%.

Wishart's population is slightly older than the national pattern

The median age in Wishart 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 5-14 age cohort is over-represented at 16.8% in Wishart, while the 25-34 age group is under-represented at 7.2%. Post-2021 Census data shows the 15 to 24 age group has grown from 12.8% to 14.9%, and the 25 to 34 cohort has declined from 8.6% to 7.2%. Population forecasts for Wishart in 2041 indicate significant demographic changes, with the 85+ age group expected to grow by 73% (249 people), reaching 593 from 343. This growth is led by residents aged 65 and older, who represent 72% of anticipated population growth. Conversely, the 15 to 24 and 0 to 4 age cohorts are expected to experience population declines.