Gladstone property market: the official numbers
The official read on Gladstone, 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 Gladstone was $270 a week at the 2021 Census — 28% below the national median. Repayments ($1,578/mo) ran ahead of rent ($1,170/mo), but not brutally.
Gladstone by the numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 22% 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 $1,170 against a typical mortgage repayment of $1,578:
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
39.2% of Gladstone households rent — that's the tenant pool an investor here would actually be renting into, and it's a deep pool by national standards.
Who calls Gladstone 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). Gladstone's median age of 36 sits below the national median of 38.
Where the pay cheques come from
14.7% of Gladstone's 20,948 workers are in manufacturing. 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.
Common questions
What is the median rent in Gladstone?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Gladstone was $270 a week — 28% below the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Gladstone?
45,185 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 36 (national median: 38). Gladstone is one of Queensland's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Gladstone do for work?
The biggest employing industry is manufacturing, followed by health care & social assistance (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
Where this leaves you
Your call
Neither a cashflow bargain nor a pure scarcity play: rent covered about 74% of the typical repayment at the census. That middle ground tends to suit owner-occupiers better than spreadsheet investors.
Whatever you do, check the things the census can't show: today's asking rents, vacancy and days on market in Gladstone. 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 Gladstone, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.