Forest Lake, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Forest Lake is an outer south-western suburb of Brisbane that lies on Yugarabul country. Its centrepiece is a large man-made lake, ringed by parkland and walking and cycling paths, which was completed in 1994. The area's European history reaches back to the late 1870s, when Henry Farley built a homestead on a site now occupied by Homestead Park; in 1881 the property passed to Michael 'Stumpy' Durack and became part of the surrounding Archerfield Station. The original homestead was lost to fire in the 1930s. During the Second World War the locality held a command post for the Darra Ordnance Ammunition Depot, one of the largest such depots in the South West Pacific. The modern suburb began in 1990 as a master-planned community developed by Delfin Lend Lease, and was officially launched the following year by the then Queensland Premier, Wayne Goss. Schools, shops and a lakeside reserve have since grown up around the water.
Around the national middle
Forest Lake is more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 997, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Forest Lake a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Forest Lake from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
56/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (56/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
21/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $390 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 21% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
80/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 116 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Forest Lake at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 22,676
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,921
- SEIFA score
- 997
- Local government area
- Brisbane
- Coordinates
- -27.6220, 152.9635
Map of Forest Lake
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Forest Lake
What it costs to live in Forest Lake and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $390
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,690
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 72%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 26%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Forest Lake demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Forest Lake demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Forest Lake using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 27% and 40% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,581 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,067 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,905 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,135 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,984 | 13% |
Share of the 22,672 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,914 | 25% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3,625 | 47% |
| Rented | 2,008 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 7,337 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 266 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 125 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,728 occupied private dwellings in Forest Lake.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,140
- Median weekly personal income
- $801
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 8,785 (40%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 7,286 (33%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 425 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 11,500 (67%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 6,936
- Employed part-time
- 3,470
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Forest Lake
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Forest Lake is January (average daytime high around 29.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.7°C). The area receives roughly 945 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.4°C | 20.7°C | 111 mm |
| Feb | 29.2°C | 20.6°C | 154 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 19.9°C | 133 mm |
| Apr | 25.7°C | 16.6°C | 45 mm |
| May | 23.1°C | 13.7°C | 71 mm |
| Jun | 20.8°C | 11.3°C | 40 mm |
| Jul | 20.7°C | 10.1°C | 35 mm |
| Aug | 22.2°C | 10.8°C | 37 mm |
| Sep | 24.5°C | 13°C | 44 mm |
| Oct | 26.3°C | 15.7°C | 97 mm |
| Nov | 28.2°C | 17.8°C | 75 mm |
| Dec | 29.2°C | 19.7°C | 103 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Forest Lake
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
7 nearbyThe Coffee Club · McDonald's · Subway · Red Rooster · Domino's · Simple Bliss
Parks & recreation
95 nearbyCollina Crescent Park · Argyle Place Park · Barrier Place Park · Glasshouse Crescent Park · Cook Street Park · Ellen Grove District Sports Park
Shops & groceries
4 nearbyLee's Bakery · Woolworths · Coles · Aldi
Healthcare
1 nearbyGrand Medical Centre
Schools & education
6 nearbyForest Lake State School · Saint Johns Anglican College · Forest Lake State High School · Saint John's Anglican College · Goodstart Early Learning · Grand Avenue State School
Things to do
3 nearbyForest Lake Community House · The Lighthouse Community and Event Centre
Eat & drink in and around Forest Lake
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- Domino'sTakeaway200 Grand Avenue, Forest Lake
- McDonald'sTakeawaymcdonalds.com.au
- Red RoosterTakeawayredrooster.com.au
- Simple BlissCafé
- SubwayTakeawaysubway.com.au
- The Coffee ClubCafé
Showing 6 mapped places; more may exist that aren't yet on OpenStreetMap.
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Forest Lake
Lived here or spent time in Forest Lake? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Forest Lake
Is Forest Lake a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability and amenities, Forest Lake rates 53/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Forest Lake?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Forest Lake was $390, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,690. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Forest Lake?
Forest Lake is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Brisbane local government area.
What is the population of Forest Lake?
At the 2021 Census, Forest Lake had a population of about 22,676.
Is Forest Lake an advantaged area?
Forest Lake has an ABS SEIFA score of 997, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 56 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Forest Lake?
Forest Lake has average daytime highs of about 25.6°C and overnight lows of about 15.8°C, with roughly 945 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Forest Lake?
Forest Lake is one of the most populous suburbs in Queensland — the 11th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 22,676 usual residents).
Where Forest Lake ranks
Forest Lake appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Queensland#11 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.