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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Charlestown is a regional centre in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 79, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 163 km from the Brisbane CBD, Charlestown is a regional area in Queensland. The median household income is $58,448 per year.
Lower income levels in Charlestown typically translate to more affordable entry points for investors. Regional positioning means lower entry costs but potentially longer hold periods for capital gains.
Official Australia Post postcode for Charlestown. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Charlestown on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Charlestown is a smaller community of 79 — about 1% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Charlestown's median household income of $58,448/year is 35% below the Queensland suburb median ($90,298) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median rent of $225/week (~$975/month) covers only 63% of the median mortgage of $1,540/month — the remaining $565/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. Charlestown is 163 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Separate houses make up 94% of dwellings — 17 percentage points above the Queensland median of 77% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
How Charlestown stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Charlestown sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Charlestown | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 79 | 5,474 | -99% |
| Median household income | $58,448/yr | $90,298/yr | -35% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $225 | $385 | -42% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,540 | $1,733 | -11% |
| Distance to CBD | 163 km | 62 km | +163% |
| Separate houses | 94% | 77% | +17pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Charlestown — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 79 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Weak cash flow: $225/week rent covers only 63% of the $1,540/month median mortgage — a $565/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.
With 94% houses in a 79-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Charlestown property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Charlestown are modest for 2026 — incomes 35% below the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 79 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~63% of the typical mortgage ($975/month rent vs $1,540/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 29/100 places Charlestown in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Charlestown scores 29/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 79, median household income of $58,448/year and median weekly rent of $225. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Charlestown are a median household income of $58,448/year, a dwelling mix that is 94% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Charlestown has a usual resident population of approximately 79, compared with a Queensland suburb median of 5,474 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Charlestown sits 163 km straight-line from the Brisbane CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $225 in Charlestown, equating to approximately $11,700/year in gross rental income (state median $385/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Charlestown is $1,540, or approximately $18,480/year (vs $1,733/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $225 works out to $975/month, covering 63% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,540/month. That leaves a $565/month shortfall (around $6,780/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (79 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,540 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($58,448 vs $90,298 state median), the broader Queensland market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.