Skip to main content
SuburbRadar

Paddington

Queensland · Brisbane Inner - West, Brisbane Inner City

Live · ABS ERP June 2025

A 3-bedroom house rents for $960 a week, against $670 in the middle Queensland area. The weekday morning train from Milton station reaches the CBD in 5 min, against 42 min from the middle Queensland area with a timetabled station. Children under 15 are 14.2% of residents, against 18.4% in the middle Queensland area (Census 2021).

Paddington has 3 schools (2 government, 1 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 7 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). Population is 13,364 (ABS ERP June 2025); the AM-peak train journey to the CBD takes 5 min (TransLink, static GTFS, timetable from 31 Oct 2026).

Paddington at a glance

Median rent, 3-bedroom house
$960
per week
Family-Fit score
78/100
Very strong for families
How it is calculated
Schools
3
Area centre zoned to Milton State School
See the schools
Childcare services
7
6 rated Meeting NQS or above
Population
13,364
+1.0% in a year
Median age
33
14.2% are children under 15
Side-by-side schools, crime & safety, price & more in the Move Planner.
Get a one-page family report
Send to my partner
Download image
Shade the map by values: Paddington

Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full QLD map →

Show more
How the Family-Fit score is built78/100

Family-Fit score

Method published in full
78 /100
Very strong for families

Very strong for families - strongest on getting around, weakest on families already here.

Schools in the area · 20% of the score
85/100

QLD median 61/100

3 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1141

Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
70/100

QLD median 60/100

7 NQS-rated services nearby

Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
73/100

QLD median 73/100

18 parks · 1 GP · 2 supermarkets · 6 playgrounds

Getting around · 15% of the score
100/100

QLD median 56/100

5 min to the CBD by train from Milton station

Housing affordability · 15% of the score
64/100

QLD median 51/100

Paying over 30% of income on housing: 10.2% of mortgage-holding households, 25.2% of renting households

Families already here · 10% of the score
47/100

QLD median 64/100

14.2% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 39.7% of families are couples with children

Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
100/100

QLD median 44/100

SEIFA IRSAD decile 10 of 10 nationally

The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 484 Queensland areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 58/100). It is context, not a pass mark.

How this score is calculated

Each published figure for the Paddington SA2 is mapped onto 0–100 by fixed thresholds, then weighted. Inputs with no data here are dropped and the rest rescaled - never scored as zero. Every threshold and weight →

Schools in the area 85/100 × 20% → 17 points
3 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1141
Childcare & early years 70/100 × 15% → 10.5 points
7 NQS-rated services nearby
Everyday amenities 73/100 × 15% → 10.9 points
18 parks · 1 GP · 2 supermarkets · 6 playgrounds
Getting around 100/100 × 15% → 15 points
5 min to the CBD by train from Milton station
Housing affordability 64/100 × 15% → 9.6 points
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 10.2% of mortgage-holding households, 25.2% of renting households
Families already here 47/100 × 10% → 4.7 points
14.2% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 39.7% of families are couples with children
Socio-economic profile 100/100 × 10% → 10 points
SEIFA IRSAD decile 10 of 10 nationally

School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →

What families notice
In their own terms

What families notice

Live
Families often notice
  • This address is zoned to Milton State School (government, no fees).
  • Ranks in the top 10% for socio-economic advantage in QLD (ABS SEIFA - not a safety or school-quality measure).
  • At least one nearby government school has an above-average ICSEA intake profile (1151 vs. 1000 national average).
Good to know
  • We don't yet have official crime data for QLD (only NSW and VIC) - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim this area is safe.
Source: Templated from the live data on this page - ABS, ACARA, ACECQA, BOCSAR/CSA Victoria, SEIFA 2021.
Living in Paddington: family snapshot
Family snapshot

Living in Paddington

Live

A mid-sized suburb with a young population. Strong United Kingdom communities here (2021 Census). Many childcare options nearby - 7 NQS-rated services. About a 5-minute train to the CBD.

Source: ABS population estimates · ABS Census 2021 · ACARA · ACECQA · state transit data (GTFS)
Paddington compared with Queensland10 measures
Paddington compared with the QLD average
Measure Paddington QLD average Against QLD
Children aged 0 to 4 4.9% 5.7% About the same
Children aged 5 to 14 9.3% 13.0% Lower
Couple families with children 39.7% 41.0% Lower
One-parent families 10.7% 17.0% Lower
Homes owned outright 21.1% 29.3% Lower
Homes owned with a mortgage 26.8% 35.6% Lower
Homes rented 51.1% 33.2% Higher
Separate houses 52.1% 76.6% Lower
Flats and apartments 38.5% 11.1% Higher
Born overseas 24.4% 22.7% Higher

Source: ABS Census 2021. The QLD figure is the population-weighted average of the 543 QLD areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.

About this area and its boundary

Hilly inner-west Brisbane suburb with restored Queenslanders, boutique strips, and easy CBD access.

13,364 residents - 14.2% are children under 15, median age 33, the largest overseas-born community is United Kingdom (5.1%).

Why “Paddington - Milton”? The ABS divides the larger suburb of Paddington into several statistical areas (SA2s); this profile covers one part of it. Other parts are listed further down. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries. It covers the gazetted suburbs of Paddington and Milton, drawn separately on the map above.

Property market

A 3-bedroom house rents for a median $960 a week. Queensland publishes no free suburb sale-price series.

Median rent, 3-bedroom house
$960
per week

Source: RTA Queensland median rents · Jun 2026

Homes and households

Who owns the homes
21% Owned outright 27% Mortgage 51% Rented
Families
40% Couple with children 47% Couple, no children 11% One parent
Types of home
52% House 9% Townhouse 39% Apartment

Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".

Show more
Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
What households here actually pay

Housing cost pressure

Live

In Paddington, 25.2% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 10.2% of households with a mortgage spend more than 30% on repayments - the ABS's stretched-household threshold (Census 2021).

ABS published figures, not our calculation.

Mortgage over 30% of income
10.2%

QLD avg 11.9%

Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 136 of 1,165 households with a stated repayment.

Rent over 30% of income
25.2%

QLD avg 32.3%

Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 638 of 2,337 households with a stated rent.

The two figures cover different households (mortgage-holding vs renting), so never add them. How the ABS counts these → Grey marker: QLD average (520 for mortgage and 528 for rent). Census 2021 - housing costs have moved since. Not financial advice.

Source: ABS Census 2021 - Mortgage & Rent Affordability Indicator Datasets (via ABS Data by Region, SA2)
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
Paddington - Milton · new dwellings approved

What's being built here

Live

12 new homes were approved in Paddington - Milton in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 475 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.

12

Approved in the year to June 2025

Middle QLD area: 31

56

Separate houses

Private sector, over these 6 years

419

Townhouses & apartments

Private sector, over these 6 years

Counts are for the whole Paddington - Milton statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 487Queensland areas.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Data by region, 2011-2025 (cat. 1410.0), sourced from ABS Building Approvals, Australia (cat. 8731.0) (source, CC BY 4.0). Each year is a year ended 30 June, published for the SA2, not the suburb.
About this data

Rent only: median weekly rent of new tenancies lodged with the Queensland RTA, by postcode. Queensland publishes no free suburb sale-price series, so we show no house price here rather than an estimate. © The State of Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority, CC BY 3.0 AU.

Schools and childcare

3 schools are located in the area, and the centre of the area is zoned to Milton State School. 7 childcare services are on the national register, 6 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.

Your zoned school Live VIC + NSW + QLD catchments

Milton State School

The government school your child can attend for free by living in Paddington.

Sector Government
Years Prep-6
Students 607
ICSEA 1151
A picture of students’ family backgrounds - not a ranking or a quality score.

This is the zoned government school for the centre of Paddington (QLD catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.

See the catchment on the map
Zoned secondary school
Kelvin Grove State College Government · Prep-12 · 3,617 students · just outside the suburb boundary
ICSEA 1135 intake context

The government Year 7 zone for the centre of Paddington (QLD catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.

Also nearby - Catholic & Independent schools (not your catchment)
Hubbard's School
Independent 58 students
ICSEA 1143 intake context

Fee-paying schools can’t be enrolled in by zone - they’re shown for context, not as the area’s school quality.

We show school intake context and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.

All school zones in the Brisbane council area →

To look beyond Paddington, every Queensland school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.

Find the school zone for an address in Paddington

Type a street address in Victoria, NSW or Queensland. We show the government primary and secondary school zones it is in, from the official zone maps.

Your address goes from your browser straight to OpenStreetMap's address search to find it on the map. We never see it or store it. Address search © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Schools in Paddington - Milton

ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All QLD schools →

Childcare: 7 services

Exceeding NQS: 2Meeting NQS: 4Not yet rated: 1

National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.

Show more
Childcare services, ratings and fees7 services
  • Avenues Early Learning Centre Paddington
    Centre-Based Care · 140 places · Paddington
    Rated Nov 2024
    Exceeding NQS
  • Canopy Early Education Milton
    Centre-Based Care · 75 places · Milton
    Rated Aug 2019 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
    Exceeding NQS
  • Milton State School Outside School Hours Care
    Centre-Based Care · 180 places · Milton
    Rated Jun 2024
    Meeting NQS
  • Una Paddington
    Centre-Based Care · 125 places · Paddington
    Rated Mar 2024
    Meeting NQS
  • Little Bush Village
    Centre-Based Care · 75 places · Paddington
    Rated Dec 2024
    Meeting NQS
  • C&K Paddington Kindergarten
    Centre-Based Care · 44 places · Paddington
    Rated May 2024
    Meeting NQS
  • Harmony Early Education Paddington
    Centre-Based Care · 106 places · Paddington
    Not yet rated
Average subsidised fee - Brisbane Inner - West area
Centre-based day care
$15.22/hr
Outside school hours care
$9.53/hr

Mean hourly fee across CCS-approved services, December quarter 2025 - Dept of Education, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Published at SA3 level (a wider area than this suburb's SA2), so it's an average across Brisbane Inner - West and surrounds, not this specific service list.

Verify locations before visiting. A rating over 3 years old is flagged. What the NQS ratings mean → Childcare places per child, by suburb →

Who lives here

More rented homes than Queensland overall: 51.1% of homes, against 33.2% statewide.

Median age
33
ABS Census 2021
Children under 15
14.2%
Below the QLD average
Born overseas
24.4%
Above the QLD average
Density
3,729
people per km²

Ages of people here

Paddington - Milton QLD average

Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.

Show more
How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
People counted at the Census, 2011 to 2021
+2,222 people
2011: 9,975 2021: 12,197
Median age, 2011 to 2021
+2 years
2011: 31 2021: 33
Children aged 0 to 14, 2011 to 2021
+0.6 points
2011: 13.6% 2021: 14.2%
Born overseas, 2011 to 2021
+1.0 points
2011: 23.4% 2021: 24.4%
Speak another language at home, 2011 to 2021
+2.5 points
2011: 11.1% 2021: 13.6%

Each line is drawn on its own scale, so compare the numbers, not the heights. Source: ABS Census 2011, 2016 and 2021.

Census trends against the middle QLD areafull charts
Three censuses, same boundaries

Which way this area is moving

Live

The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Paddington - Milton, counted on today's boundaries.

Since 2011, Paddington - Milton has grown older, with more residents speaking another language at home.

People counted
+2,222 people since 2011

Usual residents counted on Census night.

Median age
+2 years since 2011

Half the residents are older than this, half younger.

Children aged 0–14
+0.6 pts since 2011

Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.

Born overseas
+1.0 pts since 2011

Share of all residents born outside Australia.

Speak another language at home
+2.5 pts since 2011

Share of residents who stated a language, speaking one other than English at home.

The dashed line is the median across the Queensland areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →

Source: ABS Census Time Series Profile 2021 (2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses, SA2)
Where this year's population change came from+1.00% in a year
Population
13,364
ABS estimate, June 2025
Growth in one year
+1.00%
2024 to 2025
Net change
+128
people in a year

Where did the gain come from?

+128
Natural increase
Births minus deaths
+38
Internal migration
Net movers from elsewhere in Australia
-98
Overseas migration
Net arrivals from overseas
+188

Reading the streams: overseas arrivals were the dominant force - more came from abroad than the suburb grew on its own.

Growth vs benchmarks
Paddington
+1.00%
QLD median
+1.10%
National median
+0.80%
Ages against the state average, band by band
The neighbourhood, in people

Ages of people here

Live

9.3% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the Queensland average of 13%, and 4.9% are under 5. The median age is 33.

0–4 years · before school
4.9%

QLD avg 5.7%

5–14 years · school age
9.3%

QLD avg 13%

15–19 years · teens
4.9%

QLD avg 6.1%

20–34 years
34.7%

QLD avg 19.9%

35–54 years
27.9%

QLD avg 26.4%

55–64 years
9.4%

QLD avg 11.9%

65 years and over
9%

QLD avg 17%

Share of all residents of Paddington - Milton (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Queensland average. How the bands and averages work →

Source: ABS Census 2021, General Community Profile (SA2)
Households and families
The neighbourhood, in people

Households and families

Live

50% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the Queensland average of 58%. The largest overseas-born communities are United Kingdom (5.1%), New Zealand (2.7%) and China (1.4%). 51% of homes are rented.

Family make-up

Share of all families in the area. A small "other family" group the ABS also counts is not shown.

Couple with children
39.7%

QLD avg 41%

One-parent family
10.7%

QLD avg 17%

Couple, no children
46.5%

QLD avg 40.4%

What people live in

Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.

Separate house
52.1%

QLD avg 76.6%

Semi-detached / townhouse
8.8%

QLD avg 11.5%

Flat or apartment
38.5%

QLD avg 11.1%

Owned or rented

Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.

Owned outright
21.1%

QLD avg 29.3%

Owned with a mortgage
26.8%

QLD avg 35.6%

Rented
51.1%

QLD avg 33.2%

Figures describe Paddington - Milton (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Queensland average. How these are counted →

Source: ABS Census 2021, General Community Profile (SA2)
Birthplaces, languages and communities
The neighbourhood, in people

Who lives in Paddington - Milton

Live

Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 88.9% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.

United Kingdom · established by 2016
5.1%

QLD avg 4.4%

New Zealand · established by 2016
2.7%

QLD avg 4%

China · established by 2016
1.4%

QLD avg 0.9%

South Africa · established by 2016
1%

QLD avg 0.8%

India · established by 2016
0.9%

QLD avg 1.3%

Co-located communities
Paddington - Milton is home to established United Kingdom and New Zealand communities - each is 2% or more of residents born overseas here, not a ranking of one against another.
Nearby
Brisbane City, West End and Kelvin Grove - Herston also have an established United Kingdom community.
Settlement pattern
Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 30.5% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (QLD avg 15.8%) and 35.4% arrived before 2001 (QLD avg 45.9%).
English at home
Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 7.8% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (QLD avg 11.3%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.

Figures describe Paddington - Milton (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census. The ABS publishes only the five largest communities per area, so a missing name did not rank in the top five. How these are counted →

Source: ABS Census 2021, General Community Profile (SA2)
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 10 of 10
Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
Decile 10 of 10
Where this sits in QLD
top 10% of Queensland areas

A relative comparison of the whole area against all of Australia - not a safety, liveability, or school-quality measure. What IRSAD measures → Source: ABS SEIFA 2021, IRSAD index (SA2).

Getting around and lifestyle

The morning-peak train from Milton station reaches the city in 5 minutes, and the nearest emergency department is The Wesley Hospital, 1.7 km away in a straight line.

2
Supermarkets
Middle QLD area: 1
1
GPs
Middle QLD area: 0
18
Parks
Middle QLD area: 16
6
Playgrounds
Middle QLD area: 6
1
Train stations
Middle QLD area: 0
None mapped
Libraries
Middle QLD area: 0

Mapped inside the Paddington - Milton boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Show more
Train to the city and nearest emergency department

Train to the city

Timetable published

5 min from Milton station

Median scheduled weekday morning-peak travel time to the central-city terminus, from the closest station to the middle of this area (0.8 km away in a straight line). Train leg only.

Nearest emergency department

Mapped

The Wesley Hospital · 1.7 km

Straight-line distance from the middle of this area - not a drive time. In an emergency call 000; do not plan around this figure.

Community and recreation
3
Places of worship
Middle QLD area: 0
None mapped
Community centres
Middle QLD area: 0
None mapped
Swimming pools
Middle QLD area: 0
2
Sport and fitness venues
Middle QLD area: 1
Out with a baby
7
Baby-change tables
1
Baby-care rooms

Public-toilet facilities recorded on the National Public Toilet Map - not every place in the area that will let you change a baby.

About this data

Counts of features tagged in OpenStreetMap inside the Paddington - Milton boundary. “Middle QLD area”: the median of 538 Queensland areas. How these counts and times are made →

Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors · baby-facility counts from the National Public Toilet Map (Continence Foundation of Australia, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, CC BY 3.0 AU) · TransLink, static GTFS, timetable from 31 Oct 2026

Crime & safety in Paddington

Official recorded-incident data is only published on this site for NSW and VIC so far - that's a coverage gap on our side, not a claim that Paddington is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →

Risks

1 of the 1 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: traffic noise. 6 more are not published for QLD - treat them as not checked.

Traffic noise

Freeway or highway present

Coronation Drive · Hale Street · Macgregor Terrace · +4 more

Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Paddington - Milton area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.

Show more
All 9 checks and what each one means

Flooding

Not published

No free statewide flood overlay is published for QLD yet, so we show none. Check the local council's planning maps.

Bushfire

Not published

We hold official bushfire mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the state fire service's mapping.

Heritage controls

Not published

We hold official heritage overlay mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the local council's planning scheme and the state heritage register.

Traffic noise

Freeway or highway present

Coronation Drive · Hale Street · Macgregor Terrace · +4 more

7 named roads through this area carry OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 5 named main roads. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment. Where a home sits relative to them matters far more than the count - a street two blocks back can be quiet.

Aircraft noise

Not published

We hold official aircraft-noise mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the airport's noise contours and the local planning scheme.

Land contamination checks

Not mapped

We hold official contaminated-land overlay mapping for Victoria only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the state environment authority's contaminated land register and the local planning scheme.

Acid sulfate soils

Not published

We hold acid sulfate soil mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Coastal and estuarine land is where these soils occur; check the state's soil mapping and the local planning scheme.

Recorded crime

Not published

QLD does not release the suburb-level incident counts we republish for New South Wales and Victoria, so we show none here.

Social housing

Census figure

1.5% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.9% from a community housing provider

Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle QLD area is 1.6% public and 0.4% community, across 531 areas. Listed because families ask; it is a fact about who owns the homes, not a judgement about the people in them.

About this data

Every line is an official published record for the Paddington - Milton area - we don't rate, score or rank any of them. Where a line is missing, treat it as not checked rather than clear. What each line covers and does not →

Source: ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification

Nearby suburbs

The six closest profiled areas in Queensland, by distance between area centres.

Paddington - Milton · 2 gazetted suburbs

The suburbs in this area

Live

Everything else on this page is published for Paddington - Milton as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 2 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of those suburbs on its own.

Gazetted suburbs inside Paddington - Milton, with each suburb's own published figures.
Suburb Residents
Census 2021
Schools
Paddington 9,063 1
Milton 3,144 2

Each row is that suburb's own published figure - nothing here is the wider area's number divided up. Resident counts are the Census 2021 usual-resident count for the gazetted suburb, so they will not add up to the population at the top of this page, which is the ABS's later June 2025 estimate for the whole statistical area: a different measure on a different date. Schools are ACARA-registered schools whose published address falls inside the suburb boundary, which is not the same as the school your address is zoned to. No free source publishes suburb-level house medians in Queensland, so no price column is shown - that is our coverage gap, not a statement about the market here. Every other figure on this page - crime & safety, overlays, commute, amenities, projections, the Family-Fit score - is published for the whole statistical area and cannot be separated by suburb.

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile for Suburbs and Localities; ABS ASGS Edition 3 suburb boundaries; ACARA School Location 2025.

Popular tools

A note on this page. Nothing on this page is property, financial, legal or schooling advice - verify with primary sources before any decision.