What is the population of Toowoomba, Queensland?

The population of Toowoomba is 138,223. The Toowoomba population makes it the second biggest inland city in Australia. Toowoomba is the hub of the Darling Downs region, and spreads across the Great Dividing Range.

Queensland is unusual amongst Australian states in that its population isn’t overwhelmingly concentrated in one city. Brisbane is undeniably the biggest city, but there are also sizable cities up and down the Queensland coast. The Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Townsville and Cairns are big urban areas, while the likes of Rockhampton, Mackay and Hervey Bay are fairly chunky by Australian standards too.

But holiday-tastic Queensland also has a few largely forgotten inland population centres, of which Toowoomba is the largest. If you’ve never heard of Toowoomba, don’t stress yourself unduly about it, as the city is almost entirely ignored by tourists. It’s not really on the road to anywhere they want to go.

Toowoomba population figures

The Brisbane to Toowoomba drive is 127km long, and Toowoomba is regarded as the capital of the Darwin Downs region. It sprawls across the crest of the Great Dividing Range. Table Top Mountain and the Picnic Point Lookout offer the best views in the mountains, although this is nowhere near the highest points of the range.

Toowoomba is the second largest inland city in Australia – smaller than Canberra, but bigger than Ballarat (home of Sovereign Hill), Bendigo or Albury-Wodonga. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the estimated population of Toowoomba in 2019 was 138,223 people. That’s according to the significant urban area measurement of the Toowoomba population, which includes the city, suburbs and satellite towns that may as well be suburbs.

This makes Toowoomba’s population roughly the same as that of Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory.

Things to do in Toowoomba, Queensland

Toowoomba’s charms err towards the liveable rather than the tourist magnet, and the Toowoomba weather is fairly pleasant year-round. The city is proud of its wealth of parks, many of which billow with jacaranda and laurel trees. The Japanese Garden on the University of Southern Queensland campus is arguably the finest public space in Toowoomba. There’s also a Botanic Gardens in Queens Park.

Otherwise the main attractions are the DownsSteam railway museum, which also runs steam train tours, and the Cobb & Co Museum. This hosts the National Carriage Collection and focuses on horse-drawn transport, but also has some generic regional museum Ancient Rome and interactive science fare.

If wildlife is your thing, then the Darling Downs Zoo is a 40 minute drive south of Toowoomba.

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