Merritts Creek vs Mount Luke

Mount Luke is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 43 in Merritts Creek. 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, Merritts Creek tends to suit families with children, while Mount Luke 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

Mount Luke

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is already more of a family suburb (100% vs 74%)

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

First-home buyers

Merritts Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 24%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Mount Luke

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper rent ($295/wk vs $485/wk)
  • leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 23%)

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

Commuting to the city

Mount Luke

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (126 min vs 133 min)
  • But Merritts Creek sits closer to the CBD (149.2 km vs 155.5 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Mount Luke

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)

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

Investors

Mount Luke

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (21.4% vs 15.9%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
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.

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Walkability 0 / 10
Merritts Creek — Walkability: 0/100 Mount Luke — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 89 / 87
Merritts Creek — Safety: 89/100 Mount Luke — Safety: 87/100
Low fire risk 100 / 67
Merritts Creek — Low fire risk: 100/100 Mount Luke — Low fire risk: 67/100

Demographics

Merritts Creek has more residents (102 vs 51); Merritts Creek rents higher ($485/wk vs $295/wk).

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Population 102
+50% vs other
 51
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +15.9% +21.4%
Median age 43 39
Median household income $110,500/yr
+12% vs other
 $97,448/yr
Median weekly rent $485/wk
+39% vs other
 $295/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
0-4 8.8% / 5.9%
Merritts Creek — 0-4: 8.8% Mount Luke — 0-4: 5.9%
5-14 21.6% / 11.8%
Merritts Creek — 5-14: 21.6% Mount Luke — 5-14: 11.8%
15-19 8.8% / 9.8%
Merritts Creek — 15-19: 8.8% Mount Luke — 15-19: 9.8%
20-24 — / 9.8%
Merritts Creek — 20-24: not among its largest Mount Luke — 20-24: 9.8%
25-34 6.9% / 5.9%
Merritts Creek — 25-34: 6.9% Mount Luke — 25-34: 5.9%
35-44 13.7% / 9.8%
Merritts Creek — 35-44: 13.7% Mount Luke — 35-44: 9.8%
45-54 14.7% / 15.7%
Merritts Creek — 45-54: 14.7% Mount Luke — 45-54: 15.7%
55-64 20.6% / 17.6%
Merritts Creek — 55-64: 20.6% Mount Luke — 55-64: 17.6%
65-74 10.8% / 11.8%
Merritts Creek — 65-74: 10.8% Mount Luke — 65-74: 11.8%
75-84 — / —
Merritts Creek — 75-84: not among its largest Mount Luke — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ — / —
Merritts Creek — 85+: not among its largest Mount Luke — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.6%).

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.

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
England 2.9% / 9.8%
Merritts Creek — England: 2.9% Mount Luke — England: 9.8%
New Zealand 3.9% / —
Merritts Creek — New Zealand: 3.9% Mount Luke — New Zealand: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (9.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Merritts Creek 57.9% couple families
Merritts Creek — Couple Families: 57.9% Merritts Creek — Lone Person: 26.3% Merritts Creek — One Parent Families: 15.8%
Mount Luke 100.0% couple families
Mount Luke — Couple Families: 100.0% Mount Luke — Lone Person: 0.0% Mount Luke — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Merritts Creek 100.0% houses
Merritts Creek — Houses: 100.0%
Mount Luke 100.0% houses
Mount Luke — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Certificate III & IV 16.7% / 15.7%
Merritts Creek — Certificate III & IV: 16.7% Mount Luke — Certificate III & IV: 15.7%
Bachelor Degree 11.8% / 13.7%
Merritts Creek — Bachelor Degree: 11.8% Mount Luke — Bachelor Degree: 13.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.8% / 9.8%
Merritts Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.8% Mount Luke — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.8%
Postgraduate Degree 2.9% / 15.7%
Merritts Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 2.9% Mount Luke — Postgraduate Degree: 15.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 5.9% / —
Merritts Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 5.9% Mount Luke — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.7%).

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Merritts Creek 15.6% renting
Merritts Creek — Owned Outright: 34.4% Merritts Creek — Mortgage: 50.0% Merritts Creek — Renting: 15.6%
Mount Luke 18.8% renting
Mount Luke — Owned Outright: 37.5% Mount Luke — Mortgage: 43.8% Mount Luke — Renting: 18.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Development activity

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
New dwellings approved 1,513
across Toowoomba
same for both
Approvals change year on year -25%
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 83% of QLD Higher than 70% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 51% of QLD Higher than 71% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 68% of QLD Higher than 67% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 62% of QLD Higher than 38% of QLD

Liveability

Mount Luke is more walkable (10 vs 0).

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
same for both

Risk profile

Mount Luke carries more bushfire risk (33 vs 0).

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
33/100
Crime Low
11/100
 Low
13/100
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

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
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

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Parks & reserves 0 1
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Mount Luke sits further from the CBD (155.5 km vs 149.2 km).

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Walkability score 0/100 10/100
Distance to Brisbane 149.2 km 155.5 km
+4% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 133 min 126 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 4352
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 84
postcode 4352
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.

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Car (driver) 60.0% / 66.7%
Merritts Creek — Car (driver): 60.0% Mount Luke — Car (driver): 66.7%
Worked from Home 32.0% / 33.3%
Merritts Creek — Worked from Home: 32.0% Mount Luke — Worked from Home: 33.3%
Car (passenger) 8.0% / —
Merritts Creek — Car (passenger): 8.0% Mount Luke — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (66.7%).

Setting

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Elevation 598 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 621 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Connectivity score 30/100 28/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
31 premises
 0%
20 premises

Climate

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
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)

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
PM2.5 4.9 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 12.0 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Average residential rate $1,618/yr
same for both
Council Toowoomba
same for both

Federal electorate

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Division Groom
same for both
Member Garth Hamilton
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Merritts Creek Mount Luke
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Merritts Creek

Family Rural Young Families

Mount Luke

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Merritts Creek

Merritts Creek vs Geham Merritts Creek vs Hampton Merritts Creek vs Groomsville Merritts Creek vs Pechey

Other comparisons with Mount Luke

Mount Luke vs Geham Mount Luke vs Hampton
Full data on Merritts Creek Full data on Mount Luke
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