Wide Bay, QLD
gold-mining · heritage · mary-valley · country
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Move Regional compares towns across QLD, NSW and WA on price, work, schools and lifestyle, so you can find the one that fits.
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Drive to the coast
48 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
3 min
By road
Airport access
1h 3m
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
27.2°C
Rainfall
Moderate rainfall
Gympie is a practical regional centre built around local work, schools, healthcare and the Mary Valley rather than around a polished lifestyle image. Around 19,400 people live here, the median age is 42 and population has grown by about 7% since 2016. Housing remains relatively attainable, with a median house price around $775,000 and three-bedroom rents near $570 a week.
The city provides strong schools, hospital access and useful shopping, which means families can handle most routines locally. The Mary Valley Rattler, gold-mining history, regional gallery and river offer weekend options, but everyday life is more likely to revolve around work, sport and errands than tourism. Summers are hot, and the coast is close to 50 minutes away, so beach access is possible without feeling central to the town’s identity.
Brisbane is just over two hours by road and the airport about an hour. Gympie is spread out and car use is normal; the centre does not have the compact walkability or polished café culture of some smaller tree-change towns. Its strength is straightforward regional living with solid services and comparatively lower housing costs, not a destination-town atmosphere.
5 photos
Photo credits: 4. gympiemusicmuster · CC BY 2.0; 5. gympiemusicmuster · CC BY 2.0
Families, tradespeople, healthcare workers, acreage buyers and people who want a lower-cost base north of the Sunshine Coast are good fits. It also suits people who prefer rural space and practical services over beach walkability, nightlife or a high-end food scene.
The city is car-dependent and not especially polished or walkable. Summers are hot, and the coast requires a separate drive. Brisbane is about 2 hours 6 minutes away, which is manageable for occasional trips but not an easy daily commute.
Ride the Mary Valley Rattler
Visit Gympie Gold Mining Museum
Browse Gympie Regional Gallery
Kayak the Mary River
Median house price
$775,000
16% below the QLD median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$580,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$570
≈ $2,470/month
Sourced from Queensland Government Statistician's Office · 12 months ending 31 March 2026
Healthcare access
Excellent
Shopping & everyday services
Good
4–9 shopping centres within 20km
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 13 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, Bargara 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.
Gympie (UCL 313006) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 24.2% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 17.9% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (40.9% of families against 32.3%). Lone-person households are more common than average (32% against 25.6%).
Population
19,435
Population growth
+6.9%
Gympie - North (SA2 319031512)
Median age
42 years
Labour force participation
48.9%
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
$576
Per week · ≈ $29,952/year
Median family income
$1,366
Per week
Median household income
$1,082
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
62.3%
Rented
34.7%
Born in Australia
83.7%
Born overseas
10.4%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.