Southern Downs, QLD
sandstone · roses · rodeo · 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
2h 17m
By road
Nearest major hospital
5 min
By road
Airport access
1h 24m
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
24.8°C
Rainfall
Very dry
Warwick has the scale of a proper country centre, with schools, healthcare, shopping and employment substantial enough that residents do not need to leave town for every important errand. Around 12,300 people live here, the median age is 45 and population has grown by about 5% since 2016.
Affordability is one of the clearer strengths, with a median house price around $610,000 and three-bedroom rents near $550 a week. The town’s sandstone buildings, rodeo identity and events such as Jumpers and Jazz give it a strong local character, while Queen Mary Falls and the surrounding Southern Downs provide a broader outdoor setting.
Winters are cold by Queensland standards, rainfall is comparatively low and summers are warm without the tropical humidity of the coast. Brisbane is around 2 hours 15 minutes away and the airport about 1 hour 25 minutes, so metropolitan access is possible but not casual.
Shopping is good for the town’s size, though it cannot match a larger centre such as Toowoomba. Warwick suits people who want a self-contained country town with genuine services and more affordable housing, and who are comfortable with inland seasons and a slower regional economy rather than beach access or a large-city job market.
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Families, farmers, tradespeople, healthcare workers, retirees and acreage buyers are strong fits. It also suits people who want a cooler inland climate and a self-contained town where schools and services are close, while still keeping South East Queensland within occasional driving distance.
Winters are cold and rainfall is relatively low, which will not suit everyone moving from the coast. Brisbane is over two hours away and the airport is around 1 hour 24 minutes away. Shopping is solid but does not match a larger regional city such as Toowoomba.
Visit Glengallan Homestead
Walk Queen Mary Falls
Browse Warwick Art Gallery
Attend Jumpers and Jazz in July
Median house price
$610,000
34% below the QLD median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$455,500
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$550
≈ $2,383/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 8 more within 20km — showing the 8 closest.
Job market by industry
Agriculture — 15.8%
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 Stanthorpe.
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.
Warwick (Qld) (SAL 33000) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 26.3% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 18.3% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (45.1% of families against 30.8%). Lone-person households are more common than average (34.7% against 25.6%).
Population
12,294
Population growth
+5.2%
Warwick (SA2 307031189)
Median age
45 years
Labour force participation
51.8%
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
$590
Per week · ≈ $30,680/year
Median family income
$1,350
Per week
Median household income
$1,035
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
60.5%
Rented
35.2%
Born in Australia
84.1%
Born overseas
8.9%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.