Population Information

The township of Chinchilla is home to approximately 3100 people. The surrounding district (formerly defined by the Chinchilla Shire Council boundary) houses another 3000 people, mainly farming families.

Projections by the Queensland Government in 2005 indicated a 1% per annum increase in population over the next 6 years, and an increase in the median age from 36 years in 2001 to 45 years in 2026 when over half the population would be aged 45+ years, 25% of whom would be over 65 years.

However, with major development in the energy sector that has taken place in the past three or four years, and which is expected to continue for the next 30 years, growth is now expected to be considerably higher, bringing up to 50,000 people into the Surat Basin region and increasing Chinchilla's population to around 15,000 people in the next 10 to 15 years.

The horticultural industry brings itinerant workers to the area during the melon harvesting periods, boosting the region's population with many Australian and overseas students and people on working holidays.