St Lucia, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
St Lucia is a riverside suburb of Brisbane, set on a peninsula within a sweeping bend of the Brisbane River about seven kilometres south-west of the city centre. Its eastern third is occupied by the main campus of the University of Queensland, whose sandstone heart is the Great Court, a cloistered quadrangle carved with figures from the state's history. The suburb owes its name to a sugar plantation: in 1882 William Alexander Wilson, who was born on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, bought the Coldridge estate and renamed it, and the name passed to the housing subdivision laid out the following year. The leafy centre and south remain low-rise and residential, while the northern riverfront carries taller apartments. The Eleanor Schonell Bridge, reserved for buses, pedestrians and cyclists, links the campus across the river to Dutton Park.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
St Lucia is more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1091, 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.
St Lucia at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 12,220
- Median age
- 25
- Median weekly household income
- $1,761
- SEIFA score
- 1091
- Coordinates
- -27.4997, 153.0061
St Lucia demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile St Lucia 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 youth (15–24) at 38%, 53% of homes are rented, and 43% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,314 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,659 | 38% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,325 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,612 | 13% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,321 | 11% |
Share of the 12,231 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,046 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 699 | 18% |
| Rented | 2,090 | 53% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,297 | 33% |
| Townhouses & semis | 271 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,347 | 60% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,941 occupied private dwellings in St Lucia.
- Median weekly rent
- $410
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,389
- Median weekly personal income
- $548
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,999 (43%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3,907 (34%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 112 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 9,548 (89%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 10.8%
- Employed full-time
- 2,406
- Employed part-time
- 2,460
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 St Lucia
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in St Lucia 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 St Lucia
Where is St Lucia?
St Lucia is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of St Lucia?
At the 2021 Census, St Lucia had a population of about 12,220.
Is St Lucia an advantaged area?
St Lucia has an ABS SEIFA score of 1091, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 94 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in St Lucia?
St Lucia 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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