Median house price
—
No data available
QLD · Townsville Council
Rowes Bay, 4810
Est. population · Jun 2025
520
Growth (1 yr)
-0.4%
Growth (5 yr)
-1.5%
Median age
69
Median income
$853/wk
Employment rate
29.3%
Languages at home
3.9%non-English
Mostly English at home
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Coastal
- Education hub
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Life in Rowes Bay revolves around the coast at a genuine remove from Brisbane. Day-to-day life leans on nearby towns and local hubs rather than the metro area. Retirees and empty-nesters are well represented here.
Weekends tend to revolve around local favourites: a café, a market run, a walk through town. Open space is thinner than in many coastal suburbs, so residents often travel a little further for a longer park day. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here than in denser, more walkable pockets.
Buyers typically pay more than the metro middle for a home here. The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
Desirability sits below average overall, with schools and education the main drag compared with similar coastal suburbs. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Rowes Bay snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
520
-0.4% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
14.0%
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
#59
among Coastal & beach · Mature
Safety
97th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
1st
percentile in QLD
Advantage (IRSAD)
8/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
36th
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
- 25.6/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6201st in Australia
- State rank
- 1369th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #59 among Coastal & beach · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #115 among Coastal & beach suburbs
- Data confidence
- 56%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
520(June 2025)
-0.4% annual · -1.5% over 5 years · 1th percentile in QLD
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- -0.4%
- 5-year growth
- -1.5%
- Change in 1 year
- -2
- Change in 5 years
- -8
- Growth rank in QLD
- 1th 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 (~500), extrapolated at -0.8% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 541
- Median age
- 69
- Median household income / week
- $853
- Dwelling vacancy
- 14%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 37 of 264
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,875
- Employment rate
- 29.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 83 / 137 / 6 (+ 8 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)
- 94
- Against the person
- 32
- Against property
- 31
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 180.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 17 residents
- State safety percentile
- 96.5th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +2%
Most common offence types
- Assault588
- Drug Offences796
- Good Order Offences751
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)530
- Unlawful Entry345
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
- 2
- Median school ICSEA (2 schools)
- 887.5
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 36th
School list
- Cleveland Education and Training CentreSpecial · Government · ICSEA 720 · 2th percentile · LBOTE 54% · 98 students · Top SEA quarter 2% · 1.0 km awayView on My School →
- Belgian Gardens State SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1055 · 70th percentile · LBOTE 16% · 595 students · Top SEA quarter 28% · 1.6 km awayView 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
22 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 0/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 0
Community(1)
- Community centre
9 Havana Street, Rowes Bay
Other(9)
- Townsville HelicoptersAttraction
- Drinking water
- Parking (5)
- Parking Space (3)
- Picnic Table
- Cleveland Youth Detention CentrePrison
- Public toilets
- Shelter (7)
- Waste Disposal
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
Health access
- Nearest hospital
- Weststate Private Hospital (3.8 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
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)
- 20
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 38.5
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
- 30° / 24°
- Rainfall
- 680 mm · ~85 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 28° / 21°
- Rainfall
- 277 mm · ~35 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 23° / 16°
- Rainfall
- 56 mm · ~7 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 27° / 20°
- Rainfall
- 125 mm · ~16 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
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
- Herbert
- Member of Parliament
- Phillip THOMPSON (Liberal National Party of Queensland)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 121,280
- Turnout (2025)
- 85.5%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- -1.6 pp toward Coalition
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 63.4%Labor 36.6%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 5.3 km away).
Coalition 56.0%Labor 44.0%
7.4 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: -0.4 pp toward Coalition
Nearest polling places
- Belgian GardensLabor 44.1% · Coalition 55.9% TPP (2025)1.7 km away
- GarbuttLabor 40.6% · Coalition 59.4% TPP (2025)2.7 km away
- CutheringaLabor 47.5% · Coalition 52.5% TPP (2025)2.8 km away
- North WardLabor 42.8% · Coalition 57.2% TPP (2025)3.2 km away
- CurrajongLabor 42.0% · Coalition 58.0% TPP (2025)4.7 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)
- 8/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 6/10
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 Townsville Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.