Columbia vs Toll

Toll is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 43 in Columbia. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Columbia tends to suit couples, while Toll suits families with children.

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

Toll

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (27/100 vs 77/100)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Toll

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (1360 km vs 1362 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Toll

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (27/100 vs 77/100)

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

Investors

Toll

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (2.2% vs -4.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Columbia Toll
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.

Columbia Toll
Walkability 4 / 4
Columbia — Walkability: 4/100 Toll — Walkability: 4/100
Safety 23 / 73
Columbia — Safety: 23/100 Toll — Safety: 73/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Columbia — Low fire risk: 100/100 Toll — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Toll has more residents (711 vs 97); Columbia skews older (43 vs 40).

Columbia Toll
Population 97 711
+633% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -4.0% +2.2%
Median age 43 40
Median household income $107,224/yr
+8% vs other
 $98,748/yr
Median weekly rent $220/wk
same for both

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Columbia Toll
0-4 3.1% / 5.5%
Columbia — 0-4: 3.1% Toll — 0-4: 5.5%
5-14 16.5% / 18.1%
Columbia — 5-14: 16.5% Toll — 5-14: 18.1%
15-19 9.3% / 5.1%
Columbia — 15-19: 9.3% Toll — 15-19: 5.1%
20-24 — / 4.1%
Columbia — 20-24: not among its largest Toll — 20-24: 4.1%
25-34 6.2% / 11.3%
Columbia — 25-34: 6.2% Toll — 25-34: 11.3%
35-44 15.5% / 13.2%
Columbia — 35-44: 15.5% Toll — 35-44: 13.2%
45-54 11.3% / 16.6%
Columbia — 45-54: 11.3% Toll — 45-54: 16.6%
55-64 16.5% / 9.1%
Columbia — 55-64: 16.5% Toll — 55-64: 9.1%
65-74 11.3% / 13.4%
Columbia — 65-74: 11.3% Toll — 65-74: 13.4%
75-84 4.1% / 4.5%
Columbia — 75-84: 4.1% Toll — 75-84: 4.5%
85+ — / 0.6%
Columbia — 85+: not among its largest Toll — 85+: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.1%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Columbia 71.4% couple families
Columbia — Couple Families: 71.4% Columbia — Lone Person: 28.6% Columbia — One Parent Families: 0.0% Columbia — Other Families: 0.0%
Toll 55.3% couple families
Toll — Couple Families: 55.3% Toll — Lone Person: 28.7% Toll — One Parent Families: 13.3% Toll — Other Families: 2.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Columbia 0.0% renting
Columbia — Owned Outright: 36.0% Columbia — Mortgage: 64.0% Columbia — Renting: 0.0%
Toll 17.0% renting
Toll — Owned Outright: 37.4% Toll — Mortgage: 45.7% Toll — Renting: 17.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Columbia 100.0% houses
Columbia — Houses: 100.0% Columbia — Flats / Apartments: 0.0% Columbia — Townhouses: 0.0%
Toll 91.3% houses
Toll — Houses: 91.3% Toll — Flats / Apartments: 6.2% Toll — Townhouses: 2.5%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Qualifications

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

Columbia Toll
Certificate III & IV 23.7% / 14.6%
Columbia — Certificate III & IV: 23.7% Toll — Certificate III & IV: 14.6%
Bachelor Degree 8.2% / 10.8%
Columbia — Bachelor Degree: 8.2% Toll — Bachelor Degree: 10.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma — / 4.9%
Columbia — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: not among its largest Toll — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 4.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 2.0%
Columbia — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Toll — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.0%
Postgraduate Degree — / 1.3%
Columbia — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest Toll — Postgraduate Degree: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.7%).

Property market

Columbia Toll
Median house price — $491,250
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Development activity

Columbia Toll
New dwellings approved 24
across Charters Towers
same for both
Approvals change year on year -67%
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Columbia Toll
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 79% of QLD Higher than 73% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 69% of QLD Higher than 68% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 24% of QLD Higher than 23% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 67% of QLD Higher than 72% of QLD

Liveability

Columbia Toll
Grade — B
Score — 52/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Columbia carries more crime risk (77 vs 27).

Columbia Toll
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
77/100
 Low
27/100
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

Columbia Toll
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Amenities in the suburb

Columbia Toll
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Columbia sits further from the CBD (1362 km vs 1360 km).

Columbia Toll
Walkability score 4/100
same for both
Distance to Brisbane 1362 km 1360 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 922 min 921 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 4820
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 49
postcode 4820
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.

Columbia Toll
Car (driver) 90.0% / 78.7%
Columbia — Car (driver): 90.0% Toll — Car (driver): 78.7%
Bus 10.0% / 4.5%
Columbia — Bus: 10.0% Toll — Bus: 4.5%
Worked from Home — / 10.0%
Columbia — Worked from Home: not among its largest Toll — Worked from Home: 10.0%
Car (passenger) — / 5.8%
Columbia — Car (passenger): not among its largest Toll — Car (passenger): 5.8%
Bicycle — / 1.0%
Columbia — Bicycle: not among its largest Toll — Bicycle: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (90.0%).

Setting

Columbia Toll
Elevation 285 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 294 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Columbia Toll
Connectivity score 35/100 58/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 4%
47 premises
 26%
291 premises

Climate

Columbia Toll
Annual rainfall 690 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 33.9°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 12.0°C
same for both

Council rates

Columbia Toll
Average residential rate $1,328/yr
same for both
Council Charters Towers
same for both

Federal electorate

Columbia Toll
Division Kennedy
same for both
Member Bob Katter
same for both
Party Katter's Australian Party (KAP)
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Columbia Toll
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Columbia

Rural

Toll

Acreage Affordable Family

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Columbia

Columbia vs Richmond Hill Columbia vs Queenton Columbia vs Broughton Columbia vs Breddan

Other comparisons with Toll

Toll vs Richmond Hill Toll vs Southern Cross Toll vs Breddan Toll vs Grand Secret
Full data on Columbia Full data on Toll
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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.

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