May 28, 2014
It’s 10 per cent cheaper to live in the South Burnett than it is in Brisbane, according to a new report by the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office.
The report – the latest Index of Retail Prices in Queensland Regional Centres – compared the cost of a basket of household goods and services between Greater Brisbane (the Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redland Local Government Areas) and 27 regional centres around the State.
Greater Brisbane prices were used as the base line, with an index of 100.
Any area with an index higher than 100 is seen as more expensive, while anything less than 100 is cheaper.
In the report, Kingaroy came up as the second cheapest place to live in Queensland with an overall index of 90.0, just a whisker behind Gatton (89.5).
In comparison, Gympie’s overall index is 94.6; Toowoomba is 95.0; and Dalby is 96.6.
According to the report, Kingaroy has lower costs for almost every category of household expenses except health services (100.1) and transportation (101.2).
Housing costs – at 68.2 – are almost one-third below Brisbane’s.
Furnishings, household equipment and services were a surprising 18 per cent lower than Brisbane.
And in the area of insurance and financial services, which includes such things as household contents insurance, comprehensive motor vehicle insurance, financial services and deposit and loan facilities, the region came in more than 13 per cent lower.
According to the report, the most expensive places to live in Queensland at the moment are Moranbah (122.2), Mt Isa (110.8) and Weipa (122.5).
A copy of the full report can be downloaded here (1.8Mb PDF)
