Areas / Toowoomba Regional / Merritts Creek

Merritts Creek flood map & planning overlays

At $485 a week, Merritts Creek has Toowoomba Regional's 2nd-highest rent.

A planning-constraint profile of Merritts Creek (Toowoomba Regional, QLD) - 13.52 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Merritts Creek's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Merritts Creek properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 67 analysed Merritts Creek properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Merritts Creek

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026

Under observed aircraft
94%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
2%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
2,500 ft
averaging 4,500 ft
Busiest square
~2 a day
±32%
typical observed square 1 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 6,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.

How this is measured

Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.

Merritts Creek at a glance

Parcels 68 Median lot 123,430 m² Mapped easements 1 Bus stops 1 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay <1%

Schools in and near Merritts Creek

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

0

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 3.82 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 7.70 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.

Which school zone is a Merritts Creek address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.

How Merritts Creek is zoned

Rural 91%
Open Space 5%
Community Facilities 4%
Unzoned 0%

Selling in Merritts Creek? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.

Across its 13.52 km², Merritts Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 10% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 68% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 123,430 m² across 68 parcels.

Who lives in Merritts Creek

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Merritts Creek suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
102
usual residents, 2021
Median age
43
years
Median household income
$2,125
per week, Toowoomba Regional suburb typical $1,583
Median rent
$485
per week, Toowoomba Regional suburb typical $270
Median mortgage
$1,697
per month
Household size
2.8
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 8
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1024, and decile 9 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 9
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Merritts Creek's 102 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 8.3%
5-14 20.4%
15-19 8.3%
20-24 0.0%
25-34 6.5%
35-44 13.0%
45-54 13.9%
55-64 19.4%
65-74 10.2%
75-84 0.0%
85+ 0.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Crows Nest - Rosalie, the wider ABS statistical area containing Merritts Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Merritts Creek itself.

7,766 in 2001 to 9,824 in 2025, up 27%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

Merritts Creek data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government

Profile last materially updated 7 November 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific Merritts Creek address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

See what's in the $9 report →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 2% of Merritts Creek. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Published flood models are held over parts of Merritts Creek. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.

The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Merritts Creek lot.

Merritts Creek planning - frequently asked

Is Merritts Creek flood-prone?

About 10% of Merritts Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 27%. Across the suburb, 0% of the 67 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk. Published flood models are held over parts of Merritts Creek; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Merritts Creek bushfire-prone?

Around 68% of Merritts Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Toowoomba Regional average of 36%.

Is Merritts Creek under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 2% of Merritts Creek, and over about 94% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,500 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 2 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in Merritts Creek?

The dominant planning zone in Merritts Creek is Rural, though the suburb also includes Open Space and Community Facilities.

Does Merritts Creek have heritage-listed places?

Merritts Creek has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

Is Merritts Creek hilly or flat?

Merritts Creek is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 8%, and 18% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 577 m to 684 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Merritts Creek?

Across 68 surveyed parcels in Merritts Creek, the median lot size is about 123,430 m². There are also 1 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Merritts Creek have a train station?

There is no train station inside Merritts Creek itself. The suburb is served by 1 bus stop.

What is the population of Merritts Creek?

At the 2021 Census Merritts Creek had 102 usual residents, with a median age of 43 and an average household size of 2.8 people. The wider Crows Nest - Rosalie statistical area, which contains Merritts Creek, went from 7,766 people in 2001 to 9,824 in 2025, up 27%.

Is Merritts Creek an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Merritts Creek scores 1024 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Merritts Creek?

Median household income in Merritts Creek was $2,125 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,583 for the typical suburb in Toowoomba Regional. Median rent was $485 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,697 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Mount Luke 4.1 km 2% 97%
Hampton 4.2 km 2% 90%
Pechey 4.6 km 4% 66%
Geham 5.7 km 13% 63%
Groomsville 6.6 km 16% 62%
Perseverance 6.7 km Not mapped 78%
Grapetree 7.1 km 0% 91%
Fifteen Mile
Lockyer Valley Regional
7.4 km Not mapped 91%
Whichello 7.6 km 9% 29%
Cabarlah 10.1 km 8% 88%

See all Toowoomba Regional suburb profiles →