CensusAtlas

Townsville · Sub-region (SA3)

Education & Qualifications in Townsville

How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.

Well below the national figure for university degrees, Townsville is an area where school and higher education rates lag behind the state and country. While university qualifications have risen by 4.1 percentage points since 2011, the region still sees a lower proportion of adults with degrees than most other similar areas.

Open map →
📍 Townsville, Sub-region (SA3)

Where Townsville sits — Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

18.1% ▲ +28.9%

All sub-region (sa3) areas, 2021. The marker is Townsville — lower than 55% of areas.

Townsville18.1%
Rest of Qld 17.1%
Queensland 21.9%
Australia 26.3%

Schooling

Highest year of school completed.

About 54.1% of people completed Year 12, which is a little below the Queensland figure and well below the national average. This is an improvement for the region, as the rate rose 6.9 percentage points since 2011.

Completed Year 12

View on map →

54.1% ▲ +14.7%

Higher than 52% of sub-region (sa3) areas.

Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.

Highest year of school

View on map →

In Townsville, Year 12 is the majority at 59%; Year 10 is next at 24%.

Year 12 54.1% Year 10 22.0% Year 9 or below 8.0% Year 11 7.2%

Qualifications

Post-school qualifications and degrees.

Typical qualifications here are trade-based, with Certificate III or IV being the most common at 34.7%. Only 18.1% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, a figure well below both the state and national levels.

Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

View on map →

18.1% ▲ +28.9%

Lower than 55% of sub-region (sa3) areas.

Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).

Highest qualification level

View on map →

In Townsville, the largest group is Certificate III / IV at 43%, followed by Bachelor degree (26%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (17%).

Certificate III / IV 34.7% Bachelor degree 21.0% Advanced diploma / diploma 13.7% Postgraduate degree 5.8% Graduate diploma / certificate 3.2% Certificate I / II 2.5%

Field of study

What people studied.

The most common fields of study for qualified residents are engineering and related fields at 16.0%, followed by management and commerce at 14.7% and health at 12.4%.

Schools

Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).

Townsville is home to 64 schools and 34,719 enrolments, making it one of the largest hubs at this level. Most students attend government schools (57.8%), though these schools are larger on average than in most other areas.

Average school ICSEA

View on map →

973

Lower than 73% of sub-region (sa3) areas.

Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).

Schools in and around Townsville — hover a marker for details. Open the full map →

Schools serving Townsville

64 schools — 34,719 students, average ICSEA 973.

By sector: Government 37 · Catholic 15 · Independent 12

By type: Primary 37 · Secondary 17 · Combined 10
Ryan Catholic College, Kirwan Catholic Combined — 2,019 1,020
Kirwan State High School, Kirwan Government Secondary — 1,922 919
St Anthony's Catholic College - Secondary Campus, Deeragun Catholic Secondary — 1,485 992
Southern Cross Catholic College, Annandale Catholic Combined — 1,479 1,048
Pimlico State High School, Gulliver Government Secondary — 1,465 987
Townsville Grammar School, North Ward Independent Secondary — 1,288 1,116
The Cathedral School of St Anne and St James, Mundingburra Independent Combined — 1,205 1,100
Calvary Christian College, Mount Louisa Independent Combined — 1,128 1,020
Ignatius Park College, Cranbrook Catholic Secondary — 959 1,018
Northern Beaches State High School, Deeragun Government Secondary — 920 925
The Willows State School, Kirwan Government Primary — 876 956
William Ross State High School, Annandale Government Secondary — 862 955
Townsville State High School, Railway Estate Government Secondary — 841 924
Weir State School, Thuringowa Central Government Primary — 747 838
Annandale State School, Annandale Government Primary — 722 1,019
Heatley Secondary College, Heatley Government Secondary — 715 862
St Clare's Catholic School, Burdell Catholic Primary — 714 1,022
St Margaret Mary's College, Hyde Park Catholic Secondary — 707 1,014
Kirwan State School, Kirwan Government Primary — 698 927
Annandale Christian College, Annandale Independent Combined — 687 1,069
Holy Spirit Catholic School, Cranbrook Catholic Primary — 686 1,010
North Shore State School, Burdell Government Primary — 672 988
St Patrick's College Townsville, Townsville Catholic Secondary — 663 1,024
Thuringowa State High School, Condon Government Secondary — 659 842
Hermit Park State School, Hyde Park Government Primary — 630 1,028
St Benedict's Catholic School, Shaw Catholic Primary — 613 1,014
Belgian Gardens State School, Belgian Gardens Government Primary — 595 1,055
Cranbrook State School, Cranbrook Government Primary — 592 910
Oonoonba State School, Idalia Government Primary — 525 995
Mundingburra State School, Mundingburra Government Primary — 506 965
Bohlevale State School, Burdell Government Primary — 474 891
Townsville Christian College, Vincent Independent Combined — 442 871
Currajong State School, Gulliver Government Primary — 430 904
Heatley State School, Heatley Government Primary — 423 838
Tec-NQ, Douglas Independent Secondary — 375 972
Marian Catholic School, Currajong Catholic Primary — 374 1,042
Aitkenvale State School, Aitkenvale Government Primary — 366 870
Bluewater State School, Bluewater Government Primary — 362 950
St Joseph's Catholic School, Mundingburra Catholic Primary — 356 1,078
St Joseph's Catholic School, The Strand, North Ward Catholic Primary — 355 1,100
Rasmussen State School, Rasmussen Government Primary — 336 784
Kelso State School, Kelso Government Primary — 303 828
Good Shepherd Catholic School, Rasmussen Catholic Primary — 276 928
Carinity Education - Shalom, Condon Independent Combined — 237 688
Wulguru State School, Wulguru Government Primary — 212 827
Townsville Flexible School, West End Catholic Secondary — 204 842
Townsville Community Learning Centre - A State Special School, Mundingburra Government Combined — 198 930
Railway Estate State School, Railway Estate Government Primary — 179 916
Townsville Central State School, North Ward Government Primary — 144 930
Vincent State School, Vincent Government Primary — 132 772
Mary Help of Christians Catholic College, Shaw Catholic Secondary — 127 990
Magnetic Island State School, Nelly Bay Government Primary — 123 1,027
Townsville West State School, West End Government Primary — 111 866
Cleveland Education and Training Centre, Rowes Bay Government Combined — 98 720
Townsville South State School, South Townsville Government Primary — 95 909
Garbutt State School, Garbutt Government Primary — 78 775
Rollingstone State School, Rollingstone Government Primary — 68 945
Riverside Adventist School, Aitkenvale Independent Primary — 61 1,011
Enkindle Village School, Douglas Independent Primary — 58 1,018
Mungalla Silver Lining School, Mutarnee Independent Secondary — 51 736
Woodstock State School, Woodstock Government Primary — 32 950
Eaton College, Mount Louisa Independent Combined — 27 967
Yallorin Yimba Silver Lining School, Cluden Independent Secondary — 26 791
Mutarnee State School, Mutarnee Government Primary — 6 1,017

Sources

  • Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
  • Australian Schools List — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2025 (CC BY 4.0).

More for Townsville

Full area profile →

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Townsville [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sa3/31802/townsville/topic/education