Gatton, QLD

By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan · Updated 31 May 2026

Gatton is a town in the Lockyer Valley of south-east Queensland, about 93 kilometres west-south-west of Brisbane and 45 kilometres east of Toowoomba. The fertile surrounding district is one of Australia's most productive vegetable-growing regions, often called the Salad Bowl, and the town is home to the University of Queensland's Gatton campus, which grew from the former Queensland Agricultural College. Major Edmund Lockyer explored the valley in 1825, and the town was surveyed and gazetted in 1855. Its name is taken from the village of Gatton in Surrey, England. Sitting on the Warrego Highway, it serves as a service centre for the valley's farms.

8/100

Suburb Score

Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs

Gatton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 880, 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.

Gatton at a glance

Population (2021): 7,851
Median age: 33
Median weekly household income: $1,275
SEIFA score: 880
Coordinates: -27.5658, 152.2799

Gatton demographics (2021 Census)

The figures below profile Gatton 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 32%, 41% of homes are rented, and 29% of residents were born overseas.

Age profile

Age group	People	Share
Children (0–14)	1,305	17%
Youth (15–24)	1,199	15%
Young adults (25–44)	2,470	32%
Mid-life (45–64)	1,503	19%
Seniors (65+)	1,357	17%

Share of the 7,834 people counted by age.

Housing and households

Tenure	Dwellings	Share
Owned outright	837	31%
Owned with a mortgage	661	24%
Rented	1,133	41%

Dwelling type	Dwellings	Share
Houses	2,270	83%
Townhouses & semis	303	11%
Flats & apartments	127	5%

Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,739 occupied private dwellings in Gatton.

Median weekly rent: $295
Median monthly mortgage: $1,300
Average household size: 2.6 people
Median weekly family income: $1,496
Median weekly personal income: $668

Community and culture

Born overseas: 2,115 (29%)
Speaks a language other than English at home: 1,840 (25%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: 351 (4%)

Work and education

Completed Year 12: 2,952 (47%)
Labour-force participation: 56.5%
Unemployment rate: 5.2%
Employed full-time: 2,015
Employed part-time: 1,195

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 Gatton

Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gatton is January (average daytime high around 31°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.1°C). The area receives roughly 843 mm of rain across the year.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Rain
Jan	31°C	19.7°C	81 mm
Feb	30.2°C	19.5°C	125 mm
Mar	28.8°C	18.8°C	124 mm
Apr	25.8°C	15.1°C	33 mm
May	22.8°C	12.1°C	58 mm
Jun	20.2°C	9.6°C	31 mm
Jul	20.1°C	8.5°C	34 mm
Aug	21.9°C	9.1°C	33 mm
Sep	24.9°C	11.4°C	33 mm
Oct	27.3°C	14.3°C	92 mm
Nov	29.5°C	16.8°C	80 mm
Dec	30.8°C	18.6°C	119 mm

Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).

Common questions about Gatton

Where is Gatton?

Gatton is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.

What is the population of Gatton?

At the 2021 Census, Gatton had a population of about 7,851.

Is Gatton an advantaged area?

Gatton has an ABS SEIFA score of 880, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 8 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of Australian suburbs.

What is the weather like in Gatton?

Gatton has average daytime highs of about 26.1°C and overnight lows of about 14.5°C, with roughly 843 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).