Meringandan vs Douglas

Meringandan is the younger of the two, with a median age of 34 against 50 in Douglas. 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, Meringandan tends to suit families with children, while Douglas suits couples.

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

Meringandan

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
  • carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 99/100)
  • But Douglas has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)

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

Douglas

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $363/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Meringandan

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (150.2 km vs 158.8 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (122 min vs 127 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Meringandan carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 99/100)
  • Douglas has more residents already 65 and over (17% vs 8%)

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

Investors

Douglas

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (35.7% vs 8.8%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Meringandan Douglas
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.

Meringandan Douglas
Walkability 0 / 0
Meringandan — Walkability: 0/100 Douglas — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 66 / 1
Meringandan — Safety: 66/100 Douglas — Safety: 1/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Meringandan — Low fire risk: 100/100 Douglas — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Meringandan has more residents (530 vs 152); Douglas skews older (50 vs 34).

Meringandan Douglas
Population 530
+71% vs other
 152
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +8.8% +35.7%
Median age 34 50
Median household income $101,504/yr $100,724/yr
Median weekly rent $363/wk
+17% vs other
 $300/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Meringandan Douglas
0-4 7.2% / 5.3%
Meringandan — 0-4: 7.2% Douglas — 0-4: 5.3%
5-14 22.1% / 10.5%
Meringandan — 5-14: 22.1% Douglas — 5-14: 10.5%
15-19 7.5% / 6.6%
Meringandan — 15-19: 7.5% Douglas — 15-19: 6.6%
20-24 4.7% / 3.9%
Meringandan — 20-24: 4.7% Douglas — 20-24: 3.9%
25-34 10.4% / 11.2%
Meringandan — 25-34: 10.4% Douglas — 25-34: 11.2%
35-44 15.7% / 8.6%
Meringandan — 35-44: 15.7% Douglas — 35-44: 8.6%
45-54 14.9% / 16.4%
Meringandan — 45-54: 14.9% Douglas — 45-54: 16.4%
55-64 9.4% / 25.0%
Meringandan — 55-64: 9.4% Douglas — 55-64: 25.0%
65-74 6.2% / 8.6%
Meringandan — 65-74: 6.2% Douglas — 65-74: 8.6%
75-84 1.3% / 8.6%
Meringandan — 75-84: 1.3% Douglas — 75-84: 8.6%
85+ 0.6% / —
Meringandan — 85+: 0.6% Douglas — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Meringandan 66.7% couple families
Meringandan — Couple Families: 66.7% Meringandan — Lone Person: 21.4% Meringandan — One Parent Families: 12.0%
Douglas 78.3% couple families
Douglas — Couple Families: 78.3% Douglas — Lone Person: 21.7% Douglas — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Meringandan 15.6% renting
Meringandan — Owned Outright: 25.6% Meringandan — Mortgage: 58.8% Meringandan — Renting: 15.6%
Douglas 0.0% renting
Douglas — Owned Outright: 65.9% Douglas — Mortgage: 34.1% Douglas — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Where residents were born

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.

Meringandan Douglas
England 1.3% / 3.3%
Meringandan — England: 1.3% Douglas — England: 3.3%
South Africa 1.3% / —
Meringandan — South Africa: 1.3% Douglas — South Africa: not among its largest
Zimbabwe 1.1% / —
Meringandan — Zimbabwe: 1.1% Douglas — Zimbabwe: not among its largest
New Zealand 0.8% / —
Meringandan — New Zealand: 0.8% Douglas — New Zealand: not among its largest
Scotland 0.6% / —
Meringandan — Scotland: 0.6% Douglas — Scotland: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.3%).

Qualifications

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

Meringandan Douglas
Certificate III & IV 19.8% / 23.0%
Meringandan — Certificate III & IV: 19.8% Douglas — Certificate III & IV: 23.0%
Bachelor Degree 7.7% / 7.9%
Meringandan — Bachelor Degree: 7.7% Douglas — Bachelor Degree: 7.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.7% / 3.3%
Meringandan — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.7% Douglas — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 3.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.6% / 2.0%
Meringandan — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.6% Douglas — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.0%
Postgraduate Degree 0.6% / —
Meringandan — Postgraduate Degree: 0.6% Douglas — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Meringandan 97.5% houses
Meringandan — Houses: 97.5% Meringandan — Flats / Apartments: 2.5%
Douglas 100.0% houses
Douglas — Houses: 100.0% Douglas — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Meringandan Douglas
Median house price $854,500 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 26 days
from 3 sales
 —

Development activity

Meringandan Douglas
New dwellings approved 1,513
across Toowoomba
same for both
Approvals change year on year -25%
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Meringandan Douglas
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 75% of QLD
same for both
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 27% of QLD Higher than 62% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 67% of QLD —
NBN connectivity Higher than 72% of QLD Higher than 30% of QLD

Liveability

Meringandan Douglas
Grade B —
Score 58/100 —
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Douglas carries more crime risk (99 vs 34).

Meringandan Douglas
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
34/100
 High
99/100
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

Meringandan Douglas
Inside the suburb 0 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Amenities in the suburb

Meringandan Douglas
Parks & reserves 3 0
Waterways 3 10

Mobility

Douglas sits further from the CBD (158.8 km vs 150.2 km).

Meringandan Douglas
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Brisbane 150.2 km 158.8 km
+6% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 122 min 127 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 4352
 0.0%
postcode 4354
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 84
postcode 4352
 75
postcode 4354

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.

Meringandan Douglas
Car (driver) 83.2% / 68.4%
Meringandan — Car (driver): 83.2% Douglas — Car (driver): 68.4%
Worked from Home 8.4% / 21.1%
Meringandan — Worked from Home: 8.4% Douglas — Worked from Home: 21.1%
Car (passenger) 4.4% / 5.3%
Meringandan — Car (passenger): 4.4% Douglas — Car (passenger): 5.3%
Walked Only 4.0% / 5.3%
Meringandan — Walked Only: 4.0% Douglas — Walked Only: 5.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (83.2%).

Setting

Meringandan Douglas
Elevation 513 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 473 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Meringandan Douglas
Connectivity score 59/100 22/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 37%
171 premises
 0%
48 premises

Climate

Meringandan Douglas
Annual rainfall 577 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.9°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Meringandan Douglas
PM2.5 4.9 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 12.0 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Meringandan Douglas
Average residential rate $1,618/yr
same for both
Council Toowoomba
same for both

Federal electorate

Meringandan Douglas
Division Groom
same for both
Member Garth Hamilton
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Meringandan Douglas
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Meringandan

Acreage Family

Douglas

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Meringandan

Meringandan vs Highfields Meringandan vs Meringandan West Meringandan vs Kleinton Meringandan vs Groomsville

Other comparisons with Douglas

Douglas vs Goombungee Douglas vs Groomsville Douglas vs Bergen Douglas vs Plainby
Full data on Meringandan Full data on Douglas
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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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