The real annual running cost of moving to Queensland in 2026
A house in Greater Brisbane costs a median $11,617 a year to run: council rates, water, commute and insurance. On the Gold Coast the median is lower, $10,370. In Cairns it's considerably higher, $14,491, and insurance, not council rates, is why. Moving to Queensland does not mean one running cost. It means fifteen council areas with genuinely different cost structures, and the region you choose matters as much as the state.
These figures cover recurring running costs only: council rates, water, a modelled driving commute, and home insurance. They do not include groceries, general spending, mortgage repayments, rent, or property prices.
Running costs in Queensland vary a lot by region. The Gold Coast has the lowest median running cost among the state's major regions at $10,370 a year for a house, Greater Brisbane sits in the middle at $11,617, and Cairns is the highest at $14,491, driven almost entirely by insurance rather than council rates or commute. There is no single "Queensland cost of living" figure that applies everywhere you might move to.
Key statistics
- Lowest regional median
- Gold Coast, $10,370/yr
- Brisbane median
- $11,617/yr
- Highest regional median
- Cairns, $14,491/yr
- Regions covered
- 11 regions, 1,615 suburbs
Methodology
Each suburb's total is council rates (2026-27, the minimum residential general rate for an owner-occupied home, set by each of Queensland's 15 councils in our data), water and sewerage (Queensland Urban Utilities or Unitywater, 2025-26), a modelled annual driving cost to that region's principal CBD priced at the ATO's 88c/km rate, and AI-estimated home insurance based on flood risk, fire risk, cyclone exposure and suburb type. Regions below are the median of every suburb's total within that council grouping, using the same formula as the Greater Brisbane Suburb Running Cost Index. Mortgage repayments, rent, food, personal spending and land tax are not included.
Key findings at a glance
- Council rates barely move between regions. The gap between the lowest and highest regional median council rate is under $700
- Insurance is the biggest regional swing. Cairns' median insurance estimate ($6,800) is more than three times Toowoomba's ($2,100), driven by cyclone and flood exposure
- The Gold Coast has the lowest median running cost of any major region tracked here, $10,370 a year
- Cairns has the highest, $14,491, and it is insurance that puts it there, not commute or council rates
- Brisbane sits roughly in the middle of the state's cost range, not at either extreme
What running costs actually look like across Queensland
SuburbCost's Queensland data covers 1,615 suburbs across 15 council areas. Grouped into the regions people actually search for when planning a move, the median annual running cost for a house looks like this:
| Region | Suburbs | Council (med.) | Water (med.) | Commute (med.) | Insurance (med.) | Total (med.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast | 71 | $1,359 | $2,086 | $3,303 | $3,100 | $10,370 |
| Lockyer Valley | 61 | $1,301 | $1,824 | $4,325 | $3,000 | $10,460 |
| Sunshine Coast | 103 | $1,771 | $2,055 | $4,386 | $3,000 | $11,131 |
| Toowoomba | 267 | $1,444 | $2,057 | $5,677 | $2,100 | $11,343 |
| Greater Brisbane | 514 | $1,579 | $1,824 | $5,328 | $2,900 | $11,617 |
| Townsville | 102 | $1,343 | $1,967 | $4,244 | $4,400 | $11,995 |
| Mackay | 87 | $1,466 | $1,906 | $4,504 | $4,600 | $12,177 |
| Cairns | 225 | $1,165 | $1,793 | $4,788 | $6,800 | $14,491 |
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Source: individual QLD council rate schedules 2026-27, Queensland Urban Utilities and Unitywater 2025-26, ATO 88c/km, SuburbCost AI insurance estimates. Figures shown are the median across every suburb in that region, not an average, so they are not skewed by a handful of remote outliers. Smaller regions in the dataset, including Noosa, the Scenic Rim, and Somerset, are covered suburb-by-suburb in the SuburbCost tool but are not broken out as a separate row here.
Council rates are the least useful number for comparing regions. Every region in this table sits within about $700 of every other on median council rate, from Cairns' $1,165 to the Sunshine Coast's $1,771. If you're trying to work out which part of Queensland will actually cost less to live in, council rates tell you almost nothing. Insurance and commute are where the real gap opens up.
Why Cairns costs more to run than Brisbane
Cairns has the lowest median council rate of any region in this table, $1,165 a year, well under Brisbane's $1,579. On rates alone, Cairns looks like the cheapest place in Queensland to own a home. It isn't, because of one line item: insurance.
The median home insurance estimate in Cairns is $6,800 a year, more than double Brisbane's $2,900 and over three times Toowoomba's $2,100. That single figure is large enough to override every saving Cairns offers on rates, water and commute combined, and it is what pushes the region to the highest median running cost in this dataset. The driver is cyclone and flood exposure, not the suburb, the property type, or anything a buyer can negotiate around. It is a structural feature of living in Far North Queensland, and it applies to some degree across the whole region, not just a handful of suburbs.
This is the clearest example in the whole dataset of why council rates are a poor proxy for total cost of living. A region can look cheap on the number everyone checks first and still turn out to be the most expensive once insurance is priced in.
If Brisbane is your specific target
Brisbane's $11,617 median sits in the middle of the state, but that median hides a wide range depending on which suburb you land in. Inner-city Brisbane City Council suburbs run as low as $5,237 a year, while suburbs on the rural fringe of Moreton Bay and Ipswich reach the model's $17,600 driving-cost cap. If you already know you're heading to Brisbane specifically, the most affordable Brisbane suburbs to run and the full 514-suburb running cost index go into that detail suburb by suburb.
What doesn't get cheaper when you move to Queensland
Queensland's reputation as the more affordable state doesn't hold everywhere or for everything. Three things worth knowing before you commit to a move.
- Insurance in flood and cyclone-prone areas. As the Cairns comparison above shows, home insurance can run several thousand dollars a year higher in cyclone-exposed and flood-prone parts of Queensland than in a low-risk Brisbane suburb. This is a real, structural cost, not a one-off.
- Electricity in some tariff zones. Electricity pricing in Queensland is set by tariff zone, and it does not fall uniformly across the state. Some zones carry meaningfully higher benchmark usage or supply charges than others. Check the specific suburb, not the state average, using the electricity bill calculator.
- Groceries and everyday spending. This dataset does not track groceries, fuel for non-commute driving, or general household spending, and we are not aware of a reliable basis for claiming these are uniformly cheaper in Queensland. Treat the figures on this page as running costs only, not a full cost-of-living comparison.
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Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to live in Queensland compared to other states?
It depends heavily on which part of Queensland. A house in Greater Brisbane costs a median $11,617 a year to run (council rates, water, commute and insurance), the Gold Coast median is lower at $10,370, and Cairns is considerably higher at $14,491. Queensland council rates are set as a minimum residential rate, which is a different statistic to NSW's average-based figures, so a direct dollar comparison against NSW needs care. See our full Brisbane versus Sydney running cost comparison for a like-for-like breakdown.
Is Brisbane the cheapest place to live in Queensland?
No. Among the major regions SuburbCost tracks, the Gold Coast has the lowest median running cost at $10,370 a year, ahead of the Sunshine Coast ($11,131), Toowoomba ($11,343) and Greater Brisbane ($11,617). Brisbane sits in the middle of the state's range rather than at either end. Within any of these regions, individual suburbs still vary widely depending on commute distance and insurance risk.
Why is Cairns more expensive to run than Brisbane?
Insurance, not council rates. Cairns actually has the lowest median council rate of any major Queensland region in this dataset, $1,165 a year, well under Brisbane's $1,579. But its median home insurance estimate is $6,800 a year, more than double Brisbane's $2,900, reflecting cyclone and flood exposure. That single line item is what pushes Cairns to the highest regional median running cost, $14,491 a year, in the dataset.
What isn't included in these Queensland running cost figures?
Groceries, general household spending, mortgage repayments, rent and land tax are not included, and neither are property purchase prices. The figures cover council rates, water and sewerage, a modelled annual driving commute, and AI-estimated home insurance only. Electricity also varies by tariff zone within Queensland and is tracked separately in SuburbCost's per-suburb data rather than folded into this total.
Data sources and methodology
Council rates: 15 Queensland council areas, each the minimum residential general rate for an owner-occupied principal place of residence, 2026-27. Water and sewerage: Queensland Urban Utilities and Unitywater, 2025-26. Driving cost: modelled commute to the relevant regional CBD priced at the ATO cents per kilometre rate (88c/km), based on each suburb's road distance with trip frequency tapering by distance. Home insurance: AI-estimated using flood risk classification, fire risk classification, cyclone exposure and suburb type, disclosed as estimate throughout. Regional figures are medians across every suburb SuburbCost holds in that council grouping. No property prices or medians of price are used anywhere in this article. Coverage: 1,615 Queensland suburbs across 15 council areas. Council rates: 2026-27; water and driving: 2025-26.
Cite this data
SuburbCost data is free to cite with attribution. Please link to this page as the source.