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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Chelmer is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Brisbane, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,325, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 7 km from the Brisbane CBD, Chelmer is a middle ring area in Queensland. The median household income is $176,904 per year.
Above-average earnings in Chelmer support sustained property values. The short commute to the city centre is a key demand driver.
Official Australia Post postcode for Chelmer. 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 Chelmer 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.
Chelmer is a smaller community of 3,325 — about 61% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $176,904/year runs 96% above the Queensland suburb median of $90,298, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Rent of $490/week (71% coverage of the $3,000/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $877/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 7 km from the Brisbane CBD, Chelmer sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks.
This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 14% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Chelmer stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Chelmer sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Chelmer | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,325 | 5,474 | -39% |
| Median household income | $176,904/yr | $90,298/yr | +96% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $490 | $385 | +27% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $3,000 | $1,733 | +73% |
| Distance to CBD | 7 km | 62 km | -89% |
| Separate houses | 90% | 77% | +13pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Chelmer — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 96% above the Queensland suburb median ($176,904 vs $90,298), and the 7 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In Queensland, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $490/week covers 71% of a $3,000/month mortgage, leaving a $877/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 90% houses in a 3,325-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 Chelmer property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Chelmer enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 96% above the Queensland suburb median of $90,298 and a population of 3,325 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider QLD market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~71% of the typical mortgage ($2,123/month rent vs $3,000/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 79/100 places Chelmer in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.
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Chelmer scores 79/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,325, median household income of $176,904/year and median weekly rent of $490. 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 Chelmer are proximity to Brisbane (7 km), an above-state-median household income of $176,904/year, a dwelling mix that is 90% 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.
Chelmer has a usual resident population of approximately 3,325, 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.
Chelmer sits 7 km straight-line from the Brisbane CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Brisbane employment nodes.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $490 in Chelmer, equating to approximately $25,480/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 Chelmer is $3,000, or approximately $36,000/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 $490 works out to $2,123/month, covering 71% of the median mortgage repayment of $3,000/month. That leaves a $877/month shortfall (around $10,524/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 (3,325 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $3,000 median mortgage, 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.