Median house price
—
No data available
QLD · Whitsunday Council
Bowen, 4805
Est. population · Jun 2025
14,510
Growth (1 yr)
+1.8%
Growth (5 yr)
+12.2%
Median age
42
Median income
$1,343/wk
Employment rate
53.4%
Languages at home
8.9%non-English
Most common: Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- National parks
- Education hub
- Heritage area
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Bowen is a quieter established suburb in Whitsunday Council, where peace, space and a country-town pace still dominate. The area suits established families and long-term locals, with plenty of young families in the mix. Everyday life leans local, with a handful of trusted shops, a familiar main street and neighbours who know your name.
Everyday basics may be close by, but bigger shopping and services typically require a trip to a nearby centre. Green space punches above what many regional towns offer, with parks and playgrounds woven through the suburb. A car helps for most daily errands, with fewer amenities clustered within an easy walk.
Homes are relatively cheap compared with the wider market, which keeps entry costs lower. This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.
The desirability picture is below average, weighed down by softer community and employment, plus safety relative to similar regional towns. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Bowen snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
$500/wk
Population (ERP)
14,510
+1.8% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
13.3%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Livability profile
Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)
How it compares
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Desirability
#115
among Country & regional · Established
Safety
70th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
72nd
percentile in QLD
Advantage (IRSAD)
2/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
17th
percentile among schools with ICSEA
Population growth
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Housing mix
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Risks & flags
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Living here
Desirability
Ranks & confidence
- Desirability score
- 39.4/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 3884th in Australia
- State rank
- 829th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #115 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #397 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 75%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Housing
- All types (Mar 2026)
- $500
Median weekly rent from Queensland RTA rental bond data. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)
Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum
Data sources & freshness
- RTA bond statistics — Residential Tenancies Authority (Queensland) · Mar 2026 · Updated · Quarterly releases
Population
Estimated resident population
14,510(June 2025)
+1.8% annual · +12.2% over 5 years · 72th percentile in QLD
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +1.8%
- 5-year growth
- +12.2%
- Change in 1 year
- +257
- Change in 5 years
- +1,578
- Growth rank in QLD
- 72th percentile
ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.
Methodology
Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.
The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~15,300), extrapolated at +1.1% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 11,205
- Median age
- 42
- Median household income / week
- $1,343
- Dwelling vacancy
- 13.3%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 621 of 4,669
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,500
- Employment rate
- 53.4%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 3,368 / 531 / 14 (+ 116 other)
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries
Community & culture
No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Offence counts & rates
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Aug 2026)
- 831
- Against the person
- 169
- Against property
- 333
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 57.3
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 66 residents
- State safety percentile
- 70.4th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +10.7%
Most common offence types
- Drug Offences130
- Good Order Offences101
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)138
- Traffic And Related Offences163
- Unlawful Entry75
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Aug 2026; Jan 2026 to Aug 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates
Family & Lifestyle
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 5
- Median school ICSEA (5 schools)
- 927
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 17th
School list
- Bowen State High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 919 · 15th percentile · LBOTE 10% · 679 students · Top SEA quarter 4%View on My School →
- Bowen State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 927 · 17th percentile · LBOTE 11% · 508 students · Top SEA quarter 5%View on My School →
- Merinda State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 881 · 8th percentile · LBOTE 7% · 41 students · Top SEA quarter 2%View on My School →
- Queens Beach State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 928 · 17th percentile · LBOTE 10% · 302 students · Top SEA quarter 6%View on My School →
- St Mary's Catholic SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 967 · 32th percentile · LBOTE 3% · 146 students · Top SEA quarter 9%View on My School →
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
Amenities
5 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Great for outdoor family life — 46 parks mapped in suburb
- Walkability proxy
- 0/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 4.11
Sport & outdoors(4)
- Park (4)
Other(1)
- Parking
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Parks & reserves
16 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Bosel's Nature RefugeNature reserve
- Camping ReservePark
- Case ParkPark
- Col Leather Sporting ComplexPark
- Davidson ParkPark
- Denison ParkPark
- Edgecumbe Heights Recreation ReservePark
- Ethel Barker ParkPark
- Foreshore ParkPark
- Hansen ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 50
- Parks (OSM)
- 46
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
- 3
- Nearest hospital
- Blue Care Respite Centre (19.9 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- On site
- Adaptive StrategiesCentre
- Blue Care Respite CentreHospital
- Bowen HospitalPublic hospital
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
NDIS participation
- NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
- 323
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 22.3
Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.
For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.
Data sources & freshness
- NDIS participants by SA2 — National Disability Insurance Agency · 2026-Q1 · Updated · Quarterly SA2 counts allocated to suburb boundaries
Weather
Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.
Summer (Dec–Feb)
- Usual max / min
- 32° / 23°
- Rainfall
- 581 mm · ~73 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 29° / 20°
- Rainfall
- 268 mm · ~34 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 25° / 14°
- Rainfall
- 59 mm · ~7 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 30° / 19°
- Rainfall
- 110 mm · ~14 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
Planning & development
Development applications from QLD coordinated projects (lodged 2020–2026).
1 planning-related records
Other· 1 proposal
- Abbot Point Coal Terminal ExpansionStage 3. Duplication of the existing terminal infrastructure, which will double the Port of Abbot Point's capacity from 25 million tonnes per annum to 50 mtpa.Completed EIS project
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- QLD coordinated projects — Queensland Department of State Development · 2020–2026 · Updated · State projects (not council DAs)
Roadworks & transport
1 active roadworks / incidents
- Greata Creek to Emu CreekBruce Highway16 Jun 2026 – 30 Oct 2026
Data sources & freshness
- Road incidents & closures — State road authority open-data feeds · current · Updated
Heritage
4 heritage places
- Bowen Court HouseState heritage place
- Bowen Harbour Board Building (former)State heritage place
- Bowen State SchoolState heritage place
- Flemington Road CemeteryState heritage place
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · current · Updated
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Dawson
- Member of Parliament
- Andrew WILLCOX (Liberal National Party of Queensland)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 117,202
- Turnout (2025)
- 88.2%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- -1.4 pp toward Coalition
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 61.8%Labor 38.2%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 93.8 km away).
Coalition 69.5%Labor 30.5%
7.7 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: -3.0 pp toward Coalition
Nearest polling places
- BowenLabor 28.5% · Coalition 71.5% TPP (2025)16.8 km away
- Queens BeachLabor 30.4% · Coalition 69.6% TPP (2025)18.8 km away
- ProserpineLabor 31.7% · Coalition 68.3% TPP (2025)53.6 km away
- CannonvaleLabor 41.1% · Coalition 58.9% TPP (2025)58.8 km away
- Airlie BeachLabor 36.0% · Coalition 64.0% TPP (2025)61.6 km away
Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.
Data sources & freshness
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
Socio-economic
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 2/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 2/10
ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?
IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.
IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.
A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
Compare with
Similar suburbs to weigh up side by side — scores, safety, schools, and lifestyle.
More in Whitsunday Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.