Chermside, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Chermside is a busy commercial suburb in Brisbane's north, about ten kilometres from the city centre and best known today for Westfield Chermside, one of the largest shopping centres in the country. It began with a far humbler name: travellers heading to the Gympie goldrush of the late 1860s so often came to grief at a creek crossing here that the place was first called Downfall Creek, and Cobb & Co. coaches rattled through on their way north. The district was renamed Chermside in 1904 after a Governor of Queensland, Sir Herbert Chermside. Retail has long been its story — the shopping centre opened in 1957 as Australia's first drive-in centre — and where trams once ran north along Gympie Road past rose-bordered tracks, Chermside is today a major bus interchange for the northern suburbs.
Around the national middle
Chermside is more socio-economically advantaged than about 41% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 972, 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.
Chermside at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,426
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,419
- SEIFA score
- 972
- Coordinates
- -27.3854, 153.0333
Chermside demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Chermside 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 young adults (25–44) at 38%, 63% of homes are rented, and 36% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,355 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,556 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 4,312 | 38% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,074 | 18% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,138 | 19% |
Share of the 11,435 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 808 | 15% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 893 | 17% |
| Rented | 3,375 | 63% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,153 | 21% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,068 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 3,164 | 59% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 5,399 occupied private dwellings in Chermside.
- Median weekly rent
- $370
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,690
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,886
- Median weekly personal income
- $844
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,848 (36%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 2,964 (28%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 380 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 6,433 (65%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.2%
- Employed full-time
- 3,511
- Employed part-time
- 1,759
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 Chermside
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Chermside 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 Chermside
Where is Chermside?
Chermside is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Chermside?
At the 2021 Census, Chermside had a population of about 11,426.
Is Chermside an advantaged area?
Chermside has an ABS SEIFA score of 972, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 41 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 41% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Chermside?
Chermside 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).
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