Back Plains vs Mount Molar

Back Plains is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 53 in Mount Molar. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Back Plains, most households are couple families. In Mount Molar, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Back Plains tends to suit families with children and couples, while Mount Molar suits older residents.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

Back Plains

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (22/100 vs 56/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (85% vs 71%)
  • But Mount Molar has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 89%)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Back Plains

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 30%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Back Plains is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
  • Mount Molar sits closer to the CBD (168.9 km vs 179.9 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Back Plains

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
  • carries lower crime risk (22/100 vs 56/100)
  • But Mount Molar has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 11%)

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Back Plains

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (40.5% vs 1.7%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Back Plains and Mount Molar drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Back Plains Mount Molar
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Back Plains Mount Molar
Walkability 13 / 0
Back Plains — Walkability: 13/100 Mount Molar — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 78 / 44
Back Plains — Safety: 78/100 Mount Molar — Safety: 44/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Back Plains — Low fire risk: 100/100 Mount Molar — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Mount Molar skews older (53 vs 42).

Back Plains Mount Molar
Population 104 117
+12% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +40.5% +1.7%
Median age 42 53
Median household income $94,224/yr
same for both
Median weekly rent $265/wk $270/wk
+2% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Back Plains Mount Molar
0-4 6.7% / —
Back Plains — 0-4: 6.7% Mount Molar — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 14.4% / 11.1%
Back Plains — 5-14: 14.4% Mount Molar — 5-14: 11.1%
15-19 7.7% / 6.0%
Back Plains — 15-19: 7.7% Mount Molar — 15-19: 6.0%
20-24 — / 3.4%
Back Plains — 20-24: not among its largest Mount Molar — 20-24: 3.4%
25-34 13.5% / 4.3%
Back Plains — 25-34: 13.5% Mount Molar — 25-34: 4.3%
35-44 9.6% / 8.5%
Back Plains — 35-44: 9.6% Mount Molar — 35-44: 8.5%
45-54 11.5% / 14.5%
Back Plains — 45-54: 11.5% Mount Molar — 45-54: 14.5%
55-64 15.4% / 21.4%
Back Plains — 55-64: 15.4% Mount Molar — 55-64: 21.4%
65-74 10.6% / 11.1%
Back Plains — 65-74: 10.6% Mount Molar — 65-74: 11.1%
75-84 — / 10.3%
Back Plains — 75-84: not among its largest Mount Molar — 75-84: 10.3%
85+ — / —
Back Plains — 85+: not among its largest Mount Molar — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Back Plains 60.0% couple families
Back Plains — Couple Families: 60.0% Back Plains — One Parent Families: 25.0% Back Plains — Lone Person: 15.0%
Mount Molar 46.4% couple families
Mount Molar — Couple Families: 46.4% Mount Molar — One Parent Families: 25.0% Mount Molar — Lone Person: 28.6%
Couple Families One Parent Families Lone Person

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Back Plains 13.8% renting
Back Plains — Owned Outright: 41.4% Back Plains — Mortgage: 44.8% Back Plains — Renting: 13.8%
Mount Molar 6.5% renting
Mount Molar — Owned Outright: 45.7% Mount Molar — Mortgage: 47.8% Mount Molar — Renting: 6.5%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Back Plains 88.9% houses
Back Plains — Houses: 88.9% Back Plains — Flats / Apartments: 11.1%
Mount Molar 100.0% houses
Mount Molar — Houses: 100.0% Mount Molar — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Back Plains Mount Molar
Certificate III & IV 19.2% / 23.1%
Back Plains — Certificate III & IV: 19.2% Mount Molar — Certificate III & IV: 23.1%
Bachelor Degree 12.5% / 8.5%
Back Plains — Bachelor Degree: 12.5% Mount Molar — Bachelor Degree: 8.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 4.8% / 6.0%
Back Plains — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 4.8% Mount Molar — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.1%).

Development activity

Back Plains Mount Molar
New dwellings approved 1,513
across Toowoomba
same for both
Approvals change year on year -25%
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Back Plains Mount Molar
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 67% of QLD Higher than 68% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 73% of QLD Higher than 45% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 7% of QLD Higher than 8% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 28% of QLD Higher than 60% of QLD

Liveability

Back Plains is more walkable (13 vs 0).

Back Plains Mount Molar
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
same for both

Risk profile

Mount Molar carries more crime risk (56 vs 22).

Back Plains Mount Molar
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
22/100
 Moderate
56/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Back Plains Mount Molar
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Back Plains

  • Back Plains State School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Mount Molar

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Mobility

Back Plains sits further from the CBD (179.9 km vs 168.9 km).

Back Plains Mount Molar
Walkability score 13/100 0/100
Distance to Brisbane 179.9 km
+6% vs other
 168.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 143 min 147 min
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 4361
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 66
postcode 4361
same for both

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Back Plains Mount Molar
Car (driver) 82.7% / 65.2%
Back Plains — Car (driver): 82.7% Mount Molar — Car (driver): 65.2%
Worked from Home 17.3% / 28.8%
Back Plains — Worked from Home: 17.3% Mount Molar — Worked from Home: 28.8%
Walked Only — / 6.1%
Back Plains — Walked Only: not among its largest Mount Molar — Walked Only: 6.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.7%).

Setting

Back Plains Mount Molar
Elevation 458 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 516 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Back Plains Mount Molar
Connectivity score 21/100 30/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster) Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
28 premises
 0%
52 premises

Climate

Back Plains Mount Molar
Annual rainfall 643 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Back Plains Mount Molar
Average residential rate $1,618/yr
same for both
Council Toowoomba
same for both

Federal electorate

Back Plains Mount Molar
Division Maranoa
same for both
Member David Littleproud
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Back Plains Mount Molar
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Back Plains

Rural

Mount Molar

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Back Plains

Back Plains vs Nobby Back Plains vs Felton Back Plains vs Ellangowan Back Plains vs Felton South Back Plains vs Ryeford

Other comparisons with Mount Molar

Mount Molar vs Nobby Mount Molar vs Kings Creek Mount Molar vs Ryeford
Full data on Back Plains Full data on Mount Molar
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or