Gympie, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Gympie lies on the Mary River about 110 kilometres north of Brisbane, in the country of the Gubbi Gubbi people, whose name for the area — gimpi-gimpi, the fierce local stinging tree — became the name of the town. Gold changed everything here: when James Nash found payable gold in 1867, the rush that followed is often credited with rescuing the young colony of Queensland from near-bankruptcy. The settlement was briefly called Nashville before taking the name Gympie in 1868. The mines are long closed, but their story is told at the Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum and ridden on the Valley Rattler heritage steam train. Each year the district hosts the Gympie Music Muster, a major country-music festival.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Gympie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 856, 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.
Gympie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,355
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,022
- SEIFA score
- 856
- Coordinates
- -26.1835, 152.6613
Gympie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Gympie 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 24%, 37% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,084 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,336 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,533 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,682 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,726 | 24% |
Share of the 11,361 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,495 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,221 | 27% |
| Rented | 1,720 | 37% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,886 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 472 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 198 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,592 occupied private dwellings in Gympie.
- Median weekly rent
- $295
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,200
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,327
- Median weekly personal income
- $565
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,224 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 433 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 633 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,514 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 7%
- Employed full-time
- 2,201
- Employed part-time
- 1,626
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 Gympie
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gympie is January (average daytime high around 29.5°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.7°C). The area receives roughly 934 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.5°C | 20.4°C | 114 mm |
| Feb | 29.1°C | 20.4°C | 131 mm |
| Mar | 28.1°C | 19.8°C | 127 mm |
| Apr | 25.5°C | 16.6°C | 49 mm |
| May | 22.9°C | 13.6°C | 67 mm |
| Jun | 20.9°C | 11.2°C | 40 mm |
| Jul | 20.7°C | 10°C | 43 mm |
| Aug | 22.3°C | 10.6°C | 30 mm |
| Sep | 24.8°C | 12.9°C | 30 mm |
| Oct | 26.9°C | 15.6°C | 109 mm |
| Nov | 28.6°C | 17.5°C | 87 mm |
| Dec | 29.5°C | 19.4°C | 107 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Gympie
Where is Gympie?
Gympie is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Gympie?
At the 2021 Census, Gympie had a population of about 11,355.
Is Gympie an advantaged area?
Gympie has an ABS SEIFA score of 856, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 5 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Gympie?
Gympie has average daytime highs of about 25.7°C and overnight lows of about 15.7°C, with roughly 934 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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