Greater Brisbane suburb rankings
Every suburb we rank, sorted the ways that matter — growth, rent, money and age — with what is driving each list. Built from the 2021 Census, the ABS regional population release and RTA rents.
Growth & people
Housing & money
More rankings
The top ten for each of the other measures. Suburbs with fewer than 500 residents or too little data are left out; how the rankings are calculated.
Highest net migration
Ranked by net migration — internal plus overseas arrivals minus departures — for the most recent year.
| Rank | Suburb | Net migration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ripley | +2,704 |
| 2 | Chambers Flat - Logan Reserve | +1,504 |
| 3 | Greenbank - North Maclean | +1,357 |
| 4 | Deception Bay | +1,108 |
| 5 | Boronia Heights - Park Ridge | +1,093 |
| 6 | Yarrabilba | +953 |
| 7 | Springfield Lakes | +932 |
| 8 | Morayfield | +908 |
| 9 | Pallara - Willawong | +863 |
| 10 | Flagstone (West) - New Beith | +852 |
Highest group-household suburbs
Ranked by the share of occupied private dwellings that are group households — unrelated adults sharing — from the 2021 Census General Community Profile. Useful context for anyone weighing up a share house.
| Rank | Suburb | Group households |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Lucia | 19.9% |
| 2 | Woolloongabba | 19.7% |
| 3 | Spring Hill | 16.5% |
| 4 | Kelvin Grove - Herston | 16.0% |
| 5 | Toowong | 14.1% |
| 6 | East Brisbane | 13.6% |
| 7 | Fortitude Valley | 13.4% |
| 8 | Fairfield - Dutton Park | 13.4% |
| 9 | Brisbane City | 13.2% |
| 10 | Annerley | 12.8% |
Aging fastest
Ranked by the increase in median age between the 2016 and 2021 Censuses.
| Rank | Suburb | Median age change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robertson | +5.0 yrs |
| 2 | Hamilton (Qld) | +5.0 yrs |
| 3 | Victoria Point | +4.0 yrs |
| 4 | Southern Moreton Bay Islands | +4.0 yrs |
| 5 | Seventeen Mile Rocks - Sinnamon Park | +4.0 yrs |
| 6 | Highgate Hill | +4.0 yrs |
| 7 | Beachmere - Sandstone Point | +4.0 yrs |
| 8 | Bribie Island | +4.0 yrs |
| 9 | Redcliffe | +4.0 yrs |
| 10 | North Stradbroke Island | +3.0 yrs |
Most mortgaged
Ranked by the share of occupied dwellings owned with a mortgage at the 2021 Census.
| Rank | Suburb | Mortgaged dwellings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flagstone (West) - New Beith | 70.8% |
| 2 | Flagstone (East) - Riverbend | 64.8% |
| 3 | Jimboomba - Glenlogan | 63.5% |
| 4 | Sheldon - Mount Cotton | 61.6% |
| 5 | Eatons Hill | 60.3% |
| 6 | Pallara - Willawong | 59.5% |
| 7 | Karalee - Barellan Point | 58.1% |
| 8 | Karana Downs | 57.5% |
| 9 | Burpengary - East | 56.9% |
| 10 | Elimbah | 56.4% |
Least mortgaged
Ranked by the share of occupied dwellings owned with a mortgage at the 2021 Census — lowest first.
| Rank | Suburb | Mortgaged dwellings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fortitude Valley | 14.0% |
| 2 | South Brisbane | 14.6% |
| 3 | Brisbane City | 16.0% |
| 4 | Chermside | 16.6% |
| 5 | Woolloongabba | 16.6% |
| 6 | Spring Hill | 17.0% |
| 7 | Logan Central | 17.1% |
| 8 | Newstead - Bowen Hills | 17.2% |
| 9 | Kangaroo Point | 17.5% |
| 10 | St Lucia | 17.8% |
Safest suburbs
Ranked by total Queensland Police Service reported offences per 100,000 residents over the last 12 months, lowest first. Crime figures are reported by QPS police Division, not by individual suburb — suburbs sharing a Division show the same rate. See the methodology below for the Division-to-suburb mapping used.
| Rank | Suburb | Reported offences |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridgeman Downs | 3,590 /100k |
| 2 | McDowall | 3,590 /100k |
| 3 | Albany Creek | 3,590 /100k |
| 4 | Eatons Hill | 3,590 /100k |
| 5 | The Hills District | 3,590 /100k |
| 6 | Burpengary | 4,120 /100k |
| 7 | Morayfield | 4,120 /100k |
| 8 | Narangba | 4,120 /100k |
| 9 | Boonah | 7,110 /100k |
| 10 | Bribie Island | 7,814 /100k |
- Crime figures are reported by Queensland Police Service Division, not by individual suburb — suburbs sharing a Division show the same rate. Suburbs are matched to their Division using our own division-to-SA2 mapping table, not an official QPS-to-suburb correspondence.
- Metric: total reported offences per 100,000 residents (QPS's own published rate, not a raw count), summed across every top-level offence category QPS publishes for the last 12 months of data — one composite figure, not a category breakdown.
- Suburbs with fewer than 500 usual residents at the 2021 Census are excluded, to avoid noisy rates at either extreme from a tiny sample — the same population floor used on our Census-gated rankings.
- Reporting period: a rolling 12 months of QPS data, to July 2026.
Crime data © Queensland Police Service, reported by police division and mapped to suburbs using Live in Brisbane's own division-to-SA2 mapping — see methodology for detail. Live in Brisbane is an independent project, not affiliated with the Queensland Police Service.
Highest-crime suburbs
Ranked by total Queensland Police Service reported offences per 100,000 residents over the last 12 months, highest first. Crime figures are reported by QPS police Division, not by individual suburb — suburbs sharing a Division show the same rate. See the methodology below for the Division-to-suburb mapping used.
| Rank | Suburb | Reported offences |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spring Hill | 49,820 /100k |
| 2 | Kelvin Grove - Herston | 49,820 /100k |
| 3 | Red Hill (Qld) | 49,820 /100k |
| 4 | Brisbane City | 49,820 /100k |
| 5 | Paddington - Milton | 49,820 /100k |
| 6 | Chermside | 22,052 /100k |
| 7 | Geebung | 22,052 /100k |
| 8 | Boondall | 22,052 /100k |
| 9 | Zillmere | 22,052 /100k |
| 10 | Beenleigh | 19,437 /100k |
- Crime figures are reported by Queensland Police Service Division, not by individual suburb — suburbs sharing a Division show the same rate. Suburbs are matched to their Division using our own division-to-SA2 mapping table, not an official QPS-to-suburb correspondence.
- Metric: total reported offences per 100,000 residents (QPS's own published rate, not a raw count), summed across every top-level offence category QPS publishes for the last 12 months of data — one composite figure, not a category breakdown.
- Suburbs with fewer than 500 usual residents at the 2021 Census are excluded, to avoid noisy rates at either extreme from a tiny sample — the same population floor used on our Census-gated rankings.
- Reporting period: a rolling 12 months of QPS data, to July 2026.
Crime data © Queensland Police Service, reported by police division and mapped to suburbs using Live in Brisbane's own division-to-SA2 mapping — see methodology for detail. Live in Brisbane is an independent project, not affiliated with the Queensland Police Service.
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