Forest Lake, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Forest Lake is an outer south-western suburb of Brisbane that lies on Yugarabul country. Its centrepiece is a large man-made lake, ringed by parkland and walking and cycling paths, which was completed in 1994. The area's European history reaches back to the late 1870s, when Henry Farley built a homestead on a site now occupied by Homestead Park; in 1881 the property passed to Michael 'Stumpy' Durack and became part of the surrounding Archerfield Station. The original homestead was lost to fire in the 1930s. During the Second World War the locality held a command post for the Darra Ordnance Ammunition Depot, one of the largest such depots in the South West Pacific. The modern suburb began in 1990 as a master-planned community developed by Delfin Lend Lease, and was officially launched the following year by the then Queensland Premier, Wayne Goss. Schools, shops and a lakeside reserve have since grown up around the water.
Around the national middle
Forest Lake is more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 997, 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.
Forest Lake at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 22,676
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,921
- SEIFA score
- 997
- Coordinates
- -27.6220, 152.9635
Forest Lake demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Forest Lake 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%, 26% of homes are rented, and 40% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,581 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,067 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,905 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,135 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,984 | 13% |
Share of the 22,672 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,914 | 25% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3,625 | 47% |
| Rented | 2,008 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 7,337 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 266 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 125 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,728 occupied private dwellings in Forest Lake.
- Median weekly rent
- $390
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,690
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,140
- Median weekly personal income
- $801
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 8,785 (40%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 7,286 (33%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 425 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 11,500 (67%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 6,936
- Employed part-time
- 3,470
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 Forest Lake
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Forest Lake 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 Forest Lake
Where is Forest Lake?
Forest Lake is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Forest Lake?
At the 2021 Census, Forest Lake had a population of about 22,676.
Is Forest Lake an advantaged area?
Forest Lake has an ABS SEIFA score of 997, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 56 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Forest Lake?
Forest Lake 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).
How big is Forest Lake?
Forest Lake is one of the most populous suburbs in Queensland — the 11th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 22,676 usual residents).
Where Forest Lake ranks
Forest Lake appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Queensland#11 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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