Charters Towers
Gold-rush heritage town an hour and a half inland from Townsville, with schools, cattle and mining.
Snapshot
- Population: 8,040 at the 2021 Census (Charters Towers urban centre); 11,794 across Charters Towers Regional Council
- Estimated 8,172 (town) and 12,088 (region) at 30 June 2025 (preliminary ERP)
- Economy (2021 Census, region): beef cattle farming 10.5% of jobs, schools 4.9% and 4.8%, gold ore mining 3.7%, local government 3.5%
Sources: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Charters Towers (UCL314007), https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/UCL314007; ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Charters Towers (LGA32310), https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/LGA32310; QGSO, Estimated resident population by LGA/UCL, Queensland, 2001 to 2025p (published 31 March 2026), https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/statistics/theme/population/population-estimates/regions
What's selling
1 public listing right now (below). What we're seeing: Charters Towers buyers like businesses that serve the cattle, mining and school communities, and deals that come with the freehold tend to stand out. It rewards a buyer who's happy to back a country town for the long haul.
Life up here
Trent will eat just about anything put in front of him on the road. Just about. Eel's still off the menu, and he's not sorry.