Ipswich’s continuing suburban growth has taken the city’s population just past 270,000 to cement its status as Queensland’s fourth largest region.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said that as of 1 January 2026, Ipswich had 270,624 residents, up nearly 10,000 people in 12 months and 30,000 in four years.
“The city isn’t just growing; it’s accelerating,” she says.
“After that initial 12 months (after 2022), we saw our population increase annually by about 8000-9000.”
In 2022, Ipswich had 240,320 residents, council figures show.
“We used to say Ipswich added a town the size of Beaudesert each year; now it’s more like an extra Innisfail joining,” Cr Harding says.
She says their boom suburbs are Springfield, Spring Mountain, Springfield Central and Springfield Lakes, and Ripley-South Ripley.
“They make up the most dramatic population explosions in that period.”
IPSWICH SUBURBS
Council figures show that on January 1, 2022, the Springfield region had 33,333 residents; it now stands 38,415. Ripley-South Ripley had 10,183 four years ago but now has 19,389 people.
“We love our city but it comes with a price: there needs to be greater state and federal investment to help council cater for all those people, houses to accommodate them and roads and buildings,” Cr Harding says.
Councillor Andrew Antoniolli said their most recent quarterly data highlights the city’s growth.
“The suburbs of Spring Mountain and Springfield Lakes, Ripley-South Ripley, White Rock, Deebing Heights and Redbank Plains continue to be our fastest growing,” he says.
“Total dwellings across the region are … now a combined 98,313 with more than 12,000 in the Greater Springfield area alone.”
Cr Antoniolli says the current growth puts them on track to become a city of 530,000 in 20 years which requires another 100,000 homes.
He says this underlines the importance of their continual push for government help to improve transport infrastructure.
“With the Ripley Valley Priority Development Area growing by the day, we urgently need other levels of government to commit to and complete improvements to the Cunningham and Centenary highways and a public transport corridor linking Springfield Central and Ipswich Central.”
A new quarterly planning report card released by council last week shows:
2439 new residents, 725 new lots, 877 new dwellings, 433 decisions on development applications, 456 development applications, 6.28km of new path and bike ways, 6.59km more roads.
