Longreach vs Opalton

Longreach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 55 in Opalton. In both, most households own their home. In Longreach, the large majority of homes are detached houses and about half of households are people living alone. In Opalton, most homes are flats or apartments and most households are people living alone. On these figures, Longreach tends to suit families with children, while Opalton suits people living alone.

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

Longreach

ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more schools inside the suburb (4 vs 0)
  • has more parks and reserves (18 vs 4)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (87% vs 35%)
  • But Opalton carries lower crime risk (56/100 vs 72/100)

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

First-home buyers

Longreach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (17% vs 133%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Opalton

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $200/wk)

Weighs rent.

Commuting to the city

Longreach

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (846 min vs 1001 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (1242.2 km vs 1466 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Longreach has more GPs (3 vs 0)
  • Opalton has more units and townhouses to downsize into (65% vs 13%)

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

Where they sit

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

Longreach Opalton
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.

Longreach Opalton
Walkability 0 / 0
Longreach — Walkability: 0/100 Opalton — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 28 / 44
Longreach — Safety: 28/100 Opalton — Safety: 44/100
Low fire risk 90 / 78
Longreach — Low fire risk: 90/100 Opalton — Low fire risk: 78/100

Demographics

Longreach rents higher ($200/wk vs $0/wk); Longreach has more residents (3,124 vs 59).

Longreach Opalton
Population 3,124
+98% vs other
 59
Population trend (2016 → 2021) — -7.8%
Median age 39 55
Median household income $84,500/yr
+58% vs other
 $35,724/yr
Median weekly rent $200/wk
(not reported on the other side)
 —

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Longreach Opalton
0-4 5.3% / 5.1%
Longreach — 0-4: 5.3% Opalton — 0-4: 5.1%
5-14 13.6% / 8.5%
Longreach — 5-14: 13.6% Opalton — 5-14: 8.5%
15-19 5.4% / —
Longreach — 15-19: 5.4% Opalton — 15-19: not among its largest
20-24 6.1% / —
Longreach — 20-24: 6.1% Opalton — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 13.2% / 11.9%
Longreach — 25-34: 13.2% Opalton — 25-34: 11.9%
35-44 12.7% / 13.6%
Longreach — 35-44: 12.7% Opalton — 35-44: 13.6%
45-54 11.7% / 15.3%
Longreach — 45-54: 11.7% Opalton — 45-54: 15.3%
55-64 14.7% / 39.0%
Longreach — 55-64: 14.7% Opalton — 55-64: 39.0%
65-74 9.7% / 11.9%
Longreach — 65-74: 9.7% Opalton — 65-74: 11.9%
75-84 4.6% / —
Longreach — 75-84: 4.6% Opalton — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ 2.8% / —
Longreach — 85+: 2.8% Opalton — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (39.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Longreach 45.5% lone person
Longreach — Lone Person: 45.5% Longreach — Couple Families: 33.5% Longreach — One Parent Families: 14.0% Longreach — Group Household: 4.9% Longreach — Other Families: 2.2%
Opalton 70.6% lone person
Opalton — Lone Person: 70.6% Opalton — Couple Families: 29.4% Opalton — One Parent Families: 0.0% Opalton — Group Household: 0.0% Opalton — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Longreach 42.4% renting
Longreach — Owned Outright: 32.9% Longreach — Mortgage: 24.7% Longreach — Renting: 42.4%
Opalton 0.0% renting
Opalton — Owned Outright: 100.0% Opalton — Mortgage: 0.0% Opalton — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Longreach 87.1% houses
Longreach — Houses: 87.1% Longreach — Flats / Apartments: 7.1% Longreach — Townhouses: 5.8%
Opalton 35.0% houses
Opalton — Houses: 35.0% Opalton — Flats / Apartments: 65.0% Opalton — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Qualifications

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

Longreach Opalton
Certificate III & IV 16.0% / 16.9%
Longreach — Certificate III & IV: 16.0% Opalton — Certificate III & IV: 16.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.9% / 6.8%
Longreach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.9% Opalton — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.8%
Bachelor Degree 8.7% / —
Longreach — Bachelor Degree: 8.7% Opalton — Bachelor Degree: not among its largest
Postgraduate Degree 1.7% / —
Longreach — Postgraduate Degree: 1.7% Opalton — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.7% / —
Longreach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.7% Opalton — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.9%).

Property market

Longreach Opalton
Median house price $330,000 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $77,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 73 days
from 10 sales
 —

Development activity

Longreach Opalton
New dwellings approved 7
across Longreach
 2
across Winton
Approvals change year on year — -85%

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Longreach Opalton
Houses 5.2%
$500/wk on $502K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Longreach Opalton
House price —
same for both
Income — Higher than 2% of QLD
Schools Higher than 10% of QLD —
Walkability Higher than 11% of QLD Higher than 1% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption —
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 74% of QLD Higher than 22% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 94% of QLD —

Liveability

Longreach Opalton
Grade D —
Score 30/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Opalton carries more bushfire risk (22 vs 10); Longreach carries more crime risk (72 vs 56).

Longreach Opalton
Bushfire Low
10/100
 Low
22/100
Crime High
72/100
 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

Longreach Opalton
Inside the suburb 4 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 2 0
Rated below peers 2 0

Schools in Longreach

  • Longreach School of Distance Education Government · Combined at peers
  • Longreach State High School Government · Secondary at peers
  • Longreach State School Government · Primary below peers
  • Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers

Schools in Opalton

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

Amenities in the suburb

Longreach Opalton
Supermarkets 2 0
Cafes & restaurants 8 0
Parks & reserves 18 4
Childcare 2 0
GPs 3 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 3 0
Fuel stations 3 0
EV chargers 1
same for both
Waterways 7395 4156

Mobility

Opalton sits further from the CBD (1466 km vs 1242.2 km).

Longreach Opalton
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Brisbane 1242.2 km 1466 km
+18% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 846 min 1001 min
Electric vehicle share 0.0%
postcode 4730
 0.0%
postcode 4735
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 46
postcode 4730
 46
postcode 4735

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.

Longreach Opalton
Car (driver) 71.1% / 33.3%
Longreach — Car (driver): 71.1% Opalton — Car (driver): 33.3%
Walked Only 10.2% / 36.4%
Longreach — Walked Only: 10.2% Opalton — Walked Only: 36.4%
Worked from Home 10.7% / 30.3%
Longreach — Worked from Home: 10.7% Opalton — Worked from Home: 30.3%
Car (passenger) 6.1% / —
Longreach — Car (passenger): 6.1% Opalton — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Bicycle 1.9% / —
Longreach — Bicycle: 1.9% Opalton — Bicycle: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (71.1%).

Setting

Longreach Opalton
Elevation 229 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 242 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Longreach Opalton
Connectivity score 64/100 16/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 37%
1,868 premises
 0%
62 premises

Council rates

Longreach Opalton
Average residential rate $735/yr $719/yr
Council Longreach Winton

Federal electorate

Longreach Opalton
Division Maranoa
same for both
Member David Littleproud
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Longreach Opalton
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Longreach

Affordable Rural

Opalton

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Longreach

Longreach vs Ilfracombe Longreach vs Isisford Longreach vs Muttaburra Longreach vs Corfield Longreach vs Stonehenge

Other comparisons with Opalton

Opalton vs Winton Opalton vs Corfield Opalton vs Stonehenge
Full data on Longreach Full data on Opalton
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.

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