Wide Bay, QLD
turtle-coast · beachy · coral-coast · relaxed
Want to find out if you can afford to move?
Move Regional compares towns across QLD, NSW and WA on price, work, schools and lifestyle, so you can find the one that fits.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Drive to the coast
7 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
22 min
By road
Airport access
26 min
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
27.2°C
Rainfall
Dry
Bargara is changing quickly from a small beach community into a more substantial coastal suburb of the Bundaberg region. Around 13,000 people live here and population has grown by roughly 28% since 2016, while the median age is 51. Housing sits around an $870,000 median and three-bedroom rents near $585 a week. The coast is close, with Kellys Beach, Barolin Rocks and the Turtle Trail making swimming, snorkelling and walking part of normal life.
Mon Repos is nearby, reinforcing the turtle-coast identity. Shopping is strong and schools are excellent, while major hospital access is about 20 minutes away in the broader region. Summers are hot and the climate relatively dry compared with the tropical north. Brisbane is about 4 hours 30 minutes away, so Bargara functions as part of the Bundaberg area rather than a capital-city satellite.
The rapid population rise means more development and traffic than long-term residents may remember. Bargara suits people who want practical coastal living near a regional city and are comfortable with growth changing the scale. It becomes harder to justify for anyone seeking an isolated beach village or a place with no suburban expansion pressure.
13 photos
Families, retirees, remote workers and people who swim, walk or cycle along the coast regularly are a strong fit. It is particularly practical for movers who want a beach-town address but still expect access to a hospital, airport, major shops and employment in Bundaberg.
Population growth has been strong, so development and changing traffic levels are part of the picture. Summers are hot, and broader healthcare needs still pull you toward Bundaberg. Brisbane is about 4 hours 31 minutes away, making capital-city access occasional.
Snorkel Barolin Rocks
Swim at Kellys Beach
Walk the Turtle Trail
Visit Mon Repos Turtle Centre
Median house price
$870,000
6% below the QLD median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$740,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$585
≈ $2,535/month
Sourced from Queensland Government Statistician's Office · 12 months ending 31 March 2026
Healthcare access
Good
Shopping & everyday services
Excellent
10+ shopping centres within 20km — a real retail hub
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 25 more within 20km — showing the 8 closest.
Job market by industry
Healthcare — 17.4%
Largest share of local jobs
Employment figures cover this town's wider statistical region, not the town alone — you'll see the same figures for Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Gympie and Kingaroy.
The score ranks this region against other regions for the same occupation, not against other jobs here — a low score means it isn't a regional stronghold for that field, not that there are no vacancies. Counts online job advertisements, so trades and farm work hired by word of mouth are undercounted, and outside capital cities this is published at a regional level larger than one town.
Bargara - Innes Park (UCL 313002) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 31.1% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 15.8% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (55.8% of families against 31.7%).
Population
13,000
Population growth
+28.3%
Bargara - Burnett Heads (SA2 319011493)
Median age
51 years
Labour force participation
49.8%
Growth is measured across the wider area named under the figure, which can be a different size to the town.
Share of total population in each band — rounding means these won't land on exactly 100%.
Couples are a share of total families; lone-person households are a share of total households — different bases, not one breakdown.
Median personal income
$671
Per week · ≈ $34,892/year
Median family income
$1,632
Per week
Median household income
$1,356
Per week
Personal is one person's income; family and household cover everyone living together — a single-income household will show a lower household figure than its highest earner's personal one. Personal income also covers every resident aged 15 and over, retirees included, so it reads low in a town with an older population even where household income is solid.
Owner-occupied
72%
Rented
23.1%
Born in Australia
78%
Born overseas
17.5%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.