Burdekin - Ayr vs Charters Towers

Burdekin - Ayr and Charters Towers are two regional Queensland areas with very different layouts. Charters Towers is much more walkable, with 59.6% of homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries compared to 37.7% in Burdekin - Ayr. This extends to other services; Charters Towers has far higher rates of homes within a 15-minute walk of a park (76.0% versus 56.0%) and a school (66.6% versus 50.6%).

These differences in accessibility are widening as the gap in street connectivity grows. While both areas remain mostly car-dependent and share similar rates of First Nations language speakers (around 4% to 5%), they differ in their First Nations populations. The typical First Nations resident in Burdekin - Ayr is noticeably older at 23, while in Charters Towers they are just 18. This younger group in Charters Towers also faces a well higher unemployment rate of 16.5%.