A city where you can have a go: how Toowoomba's growth is creating opportunity

When Isaac Moody's family moved from the Sunshine Coast to Toowoomba during his primary school years, it wasn't the obvious choice.

Today, after building multiple businesses in the city, he's convinced they made the right decision.

“I've been there ever since, and fallen in love with the town,” Moody said.

“It's almost that Goldilocks size. Not too big, not too small. It's a city I think that's big enough to have a go, but small enough to have a great feel.”

That balance may be helping attract more people to the region, with the latest Regional Movers Index (RMI) showing Toowoomba recorded the strongest year-on-year growth in net inflows from capital cities of any local government area in Australia.

Building businesses in a growing city

For Moody, Toowoomba's growth has played out across two very different businesses.

His wedding venue, Gabbinbar Homestead, hosts around 250 weddings each year and employs about 70 people.

Moody said attracting visitors to Toowoomba has long been part of the venue's purpose. 

“The whole thing about Gabbinbar Homestead is getting people married in Toowoomba who don't necessarily reside in the Toowoomba area,” he said.

“We've always had this tourism, bring-people-to-Toowoomba focus.”

More recently, Moody acquired artisan bakery The Baker's Duck.

Since purchasing the business in 2022, its customers have quadrupled.  

“We now serve around 10,000 customers each week,” he said. “It's been really great to see it grow.”

That growth has been significant enough that the business is now preparing to open a second location, which will also house a larger production facility.

He believes the increasing population has played a role in that expansion.

“Right around the fringe of Toowoomba, the amount of greenfield development, residential people coming in, obviously the population is absolutely growing.” 

Why people are choosing Toowoomba

The regional movement is something Moody sees firsthand – and he thinks he has a sense as to where most people are moving from.

“It feels like every second person who arrives in Toowoomba has come from Melbourne, to be honest,” he said.

He describes Toowoomba as a city that offers the benefits of regional living without sacrificing opportunity.

“People move for the lifestyle reasons. Great education, good schools and university town, and pretty good job opportunities as well,” Moody said.

Growth is helping businesses attract staff

For many regional businesses, finding and retaining staff remains a challenge, but Moody believes Toowoomba is better positioned than many regional centres.

“While the job market's tight, unlike many other regional areas, it is possible to find staff,” he said.

Moody said his businesses have successfully recruited workers from south-east Queensland, particularly in hospitality. 

“We've found that if we advertise into the Brisbane or Gold Coast jobs market, we're often successful in finding great candidates,” he said.

He believes affordability is playing a role.

“Maybe our salaries aren't quite as high, but people are looking for more affordable places to live.”

Importantly, he said many workers who move to Toowoomba choose to stay. 

“We find that when people come to work here, they stick.”

Looking ahead

Moody believes Toowoomba's growth story is still unfolding.

One reason, he said, is the city's ability to support a diverse range of industries.

“It's always been stable, never had big booms, never had big dips, but it's just had stable growth,” he said. 

Agriculture, education, health, defence and resources all contribute to the local economy, helping create jobs and opportunities across the region.

But as more people choose Toowoomba, he said keeping pace with growth will become increasingly important.

For Moody, the city's appeal remains rooted in the same qualities that attracted his family years ago.

“It's a great place to raise kids and have a family.” 

Downloadable assets

• Regional Movers Index Report: March Quarter 2026