Bundaberg property market: the official numbers
The official read on Bundaberg, QLD: who lives there, what they pay in rent and repayments, and where the jobs are. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
Median rent in Bundaberg was $285 a week at the 2021 Census — 24% below the national median. The typical rent ($1,235/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($1,300/mo). Cashflow territory.
Bundaberg by the numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 25% of the median household income. One caveat before you compare: everything here is August 2021. Repayments in particular have jumped since the 2022–24 rate rises. Treat these as a ranking tool, not a price tag.
The rent-or-buy gap
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,235 against a typical mortgage repayment of $1,300:
How to read the rent-repayment gap
The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?
The owner–renter split
30.7% of Bundaberg households rent — that's the tenant pool an investor here would actually be renting into, and it's about the national norm.
Who calls Bundaberg home
How to read an age profile
A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Bundaberg's median age of 45 sits above the national median of 38.
What the local economy runs on
21.0% of Bundaberg's 29,407 workers are in health care & social assistance. That's the engine under local housing demand — worth knowing how it's running before you buy.
What it costs to buy in QLD
We don't republish licensed price feeds, so for today's sale prices check a licensed source. The costs of buying, though, are public and exact:
- Stamp duty in Queensland — exact duty and first-home-buyer concessions.
- What can I afford? — borrowing power, price range and all-in upfront cash.
- The official QLD price trend — ABS state-level values since 2011, interactive.
Quick answers
What is the median rent in Bundaberg?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Bundaberg was $285 a week — 24% below the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Bundaberg?
73,747 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 45 (national median: 38). Bundaberg is one of Queensland's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Bundaberg do for work?
The biggest employing industry is health care & social assistance, followed by retail trade (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
Where this leaves you
Your call
On the census shape, Bundaberg suits the cashflow buyer: the typical rent ($1,235/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($1,300/mo). It's a weaker fit for anyone banking on scarcity to do the work. One employer story dominates — health care & social assistance is 21.0% of local jobs. When it hires, housing tightens; when it stops, you'll feel it.
Whatever you do, check the things the census can't show: today's asking rents, vacancy and days on market in Bundaberg. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the Queensland stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.
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General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Bundaberg, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.