South Burnett vs Western Downs

South Burnett and Western Downs are two regional Queensland areas that differ mainly in how residents access local services. South Burnett is more walkable, with 48.5% of homes within a 15-minute walk of a park compared to 34.9% in Western Downs. Residents in South Burnett also have better walking access to schools (37.0% versus 29.4%) and groceries (30.3% versus 21.7%). Education outcomes for First Nations people are also well higher in South Burnett, where 37.4% finished Year 12, compared to 32.8% in Western Downs.

These two areas have tracked closely in other ways, with the gap in First Nations unemployment remaining small at just 1.6 percentage points. They share very similar typical incomes for First Nations residents and both have no homes within a 10-minute walk of public transport. While Western Downs has a well larger First Nations population with 1,669 people, both areas remain largely car-dependent, though South Burnett is rated as mostly car-dependent and Western Downs as car-dependent.