Chelmer, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Chelmer is a leafy riverside suburb in Brisbane's south-west, about ten kilometres by road from the city centre and wrapped on three sides by a bend of the Brisbane River. It is known for its fine timber Queenslanders, with their wide verandahs and iron roofs, on quiet low-density streets. The suburb takes its name from the Chelmer railway station, named in 1881 most likely after the Chelmer River in Essex, England, having earlier been called Oxley Point and then Riverton. The Walter Taylor Bridge, privately built and opened in 1936, carries traffic across the river to neighbouring Indooroopilly. Perhaps the suburb's best-loved feature is Laurel Avenue, voted Brisbane's best street in 1999, where arching rows of century-old camphor laurels shade a run of gracious heritage homes.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Chelmer is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1166, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Chelmer at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,325
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $3,402
- SEIFA score
- 1166
- Coordinates
- -27.5128, 152.9749
Chelmer demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Chelmer using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 27%, 16% of homes are rented, and 26% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 732 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 490 | 15% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 639 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 907 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 563 | 17% |
Share of the 3,331 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 399 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 453 | 44% |
| Rented | 167 | 16% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 981 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 56 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,037 occupied private dwellings in Chelmer.
- Median weekly rent
- $490
- Median monthly mortgage
- $3,000
- Average household size
- 3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,900
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,282
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 837 (26%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 423 (13%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 12 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,055 (85%)
- Labour-force participation
- 65.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.7%
- Employed full-time
- 957
- Employed part-time
- 510
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Chelmer
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Chelmer is January (average daytime high around 29.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.7°C). The area receives roughly 945 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.4°C | 20.7°C | 111 mm |
| Feb | 29.2°C | 20.6°C | 154 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 19.9°C | 133 mm |
| Apr | 25.7°C | 16.6°C | 45 mm |
| May | 23.1°C | 13.7°C | 71 mm |
| Jun | 20.8°C | 11.3°C | 40 mm |
| Jul | 20.7°C | 10.1°C | 35 mm |
| Aug | 22.2°C | 10.8°C | 37 mm |
| Sep | 24.5°C | 13°C | 44 mm |
| Oct | 26.3°C | 15.7°C | 97 mm |
| Nov | 28.2°C | 17.8°C | 75 mm |
| Dec | 29.2°C | 19.7°C | 103 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Chelmer
Where is Chelmer?
Chelmer is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Chelmer?
At the 2021 Census, Chelmer had a population of about 3,325.
Is Chelmer an advantaged area?
Chelmer has an ABS SEIFA score of 1166, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 99 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Chelmer?
Chelmer has average daytime highs of about 25.6°C and overnight lows of about 15.8°C, with roughly 945 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Chelmer have high household incomes?
Chelmer has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Queensland — the 7th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,402 per week).
Where Chelmer ranks
Chelmer appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.