Parts of Logan have ranked among the lowest in the country for wellbeing, including general life satisfaction, according to a survey of 10,000 adults nationwide.
However, the city’s older, higher-earning residents are happier than most.
Australian Unity, who run the Wellbeing Index alongside Deakin University, uses the survey to track how Australians feel about their lives and society more broadly.
Personal well-being includes areas like health, relationships, living standards, and security, while national well-being focuses on subjects like the economy, environment, social conditions, and government.
The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index has run every year since 2001 and is “one of the longest running studies of subjective wellbeing in the world,” according to their website.
Location, income, and age have the greatest impact on wellbeing index scores (which are scored on a scale from 0-100), Australian Unity and Deakin University have shown.
The federal electorate of Rankin returned an overall life satisfaction score of 65.7 to 67.1, a personal wellbeing index score of 63.7 to 66.0, and an even lower national wellbeing index score of 56.4 to 57.1.
Forde returned comparable results, with an overall life satisfaction score of 65.7 to 67.1, a personal wellbeing index score of 63.7 to 66.0, and a national wellbeing index score of 56.4 to 57.1.
Wright, the Logan electorate with the greatest landmass, returned much higher and happier results in the wellbeing survey index, consistently scoring in the top 50%, 40% and 30% of Australians.
In overall life satisfaction, Wright scored 68.7 to 69.0; in personal wellbeing index, 68.3 to 68.9; and national wellbeing index, 56.4 to 57.1.
These results align with Australian Unity and Deakin University’s analysis of index data, which indicates that lower-income households or electorates were more likely to return low personal and national well-being scores.
Younger Australians were also more likely to report low personal well-being scores compared to older generations.
Both Rankin and Forde share similar demographics. For example, Rankin’s average population age is 34 and Forde’s is 35; Rankin’s unemployment rate is 7.7%, while Forde’s is 6.2%; and both have an average household income of $78,000 to $90,999 per year.
Conversely, in Wright, the average age of a resident is 39, the unemployment rate is 4.7% and the average household income is $91,000 to $103,999 per year.
Capital cities scored the highest in the national well-being category and the lowest in personal relationships.
Regional and rural communities reported the opposite, showing strong satisfaction with personal relationships but a lower national well-being score.
Lead researcher of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index and senior research fellow from the School of Psychology at Deakin University, Dr Kate Lycett, said the data collected in June 2025, against the backdrop of lowered inflation and a change of government, provided valuable insights into the lives of Australians.
“These data provide valuable insights beyond traditional economic and objective data; they show us how people are feeling,” Dr Lycett said.
“The findings should drive awareness and investments to support wellbeing, such as place-based services, infrastructure, and opportunities for community actions.
“If we want a more equitable and sustainable society, then we need to prioritise people over profits and embed wellbeing across policy, business and community decisions.”
