Best Brisbane suburbs for families with good primary schools
Ashgrove tops the ranking: 3 of its 4 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 2 and 16 km of the Brisbane CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 64 eligible Brisbane suburbs.
This ranking scores every eligible Brisbane suburb on the share of primary-school students at schools that outperform their ACARA peer group, adjusted for socio-economic advantage, walkability, and safety. Public and private results are ranked separately since the buyer decisions differ.
For each Brisbane suburb we compute the share of primary-school enrolments at schools rated above their ACARA peer group, blended with the ABS SEIFA socio-economic index, OpenStreetMap walkability, and a composite safety score. The share is Bayesian-smoothed so a suburb with two-of-two above-peer schools can't leapfrog a suburb with eight-of-ten. A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice — parents with two children in different year levels value optionality that a single-school suburb can't deliver.
Best Brisbane suburbs for good public primary schools
Public/government-sector primary schools — includes K-6 schools and the primary component of K-12 government schools within the suburb boundary.
Coorparoo
QLD 4151 · 18,132 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ashgrove
QLD 4060 · 13,450 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Albany Creek
QLD 4035 · 16,385 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Bardon
QLD 4065 · 10,153 residents1/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Kenmore
QLD 4069 · 9,675 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
Holland Park West
QLD 4121 · 6,468 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
Woolloongabba
QLD 4102 · 8,687 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Camp Hill
QLD 4152 · 12,254 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
The Gap
QLD 4061 · 17,318 residents1/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · somewhat walkable
Manly
QLD 4179 · 4,273 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
Rochedale South
QLD 4123 · 15,228 residents1/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · walkable
Aspley
QLD 4034 · 12,871 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Mitchelton
QLD 4053 · 9,244 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Eight Mile Plains
QLD 4113 · 15,326 residents1/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · walkable
Manly West
QLD 4179 · 12,436 residents1/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · walkable
Ranked from 64 qualifying suburbs.
Best Brisbane suburbs for good private primary schools
Catholic and independent primary schools — includes standalone primaries and the primary component of K-12 combined schools.
Ashgrove
QLD 4060 · 13,450 residents3/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Toowong
QLD 4066 · 12,556 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Fortitude Valley
QLD 4006 · 9,708 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
South Brisbane
QLD 4101 · 14,292 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Kedron
QLD 4031 · 9,907 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Clayfield
QLD 4011 · 10,897 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Coorparoo
QLD 4151 · 18,132 residents2/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Tarragindi
QLD 4121 · 11,035 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Indooroopilly
QLD 4068 · 13,622 residents2/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Spring Hill
QLD 4000 · 6,593 residents2/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Everton Park
QLD 4053 · 10,111 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wynnum
QLD 4178 · 14,036 residents1/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · very walkable
Albany Creek
QLD 4035 · 16,385 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Upper Mount Gravatt
QLD 4122 · 10,800 residents2/3 above peer schools · advantaged area · very walkable
Corinda
QLD 4075 · 5,555 residents0/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ranked from 39 qualifying suburbs.
40% share of schools above their peer group · 20% socio-economic advantage (SEIFA) · 25% walkability · 15% safety (bushfire, crime, flood risks combined). Plus a small volume bonus rewarding suburbs offering more school choice. See how we calculate for the full methodology.
Common questions about this ranking
What are the best Brisbane suburbs for families with good primary schools?
Ashgrove tops the ranking: 3 of its 4 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 2 and 16 km of the Brisbane CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 64 eligible Brisbane suburbs.
How is this ranking scored?
Each eligible Brisbane suburb is scored on four factors: 40% share of schools rated above their ACARA peer group (Bayesian-smoothed so a tiny suburb with 2/2 can't outrank a suburb with 8/10), 20% ABS SEIFA socio-economic advantage, 25% OpenStreetMap-derived walkability, and 15% safety (bushfire, crime and flood risks combined). A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice.
Why are public and private schools ranked separately?
Buyer decisions differ: parents choosing between government-sector primary schools weigh very different factors from parents choosing between Catholic and independent schools. Blending the two hides the signal a reader is actually looking for, so we publish both lists on the same page.
Which suburbs are eligible for the ranking?
To appear on the list, a suburb needs at least 2 qualifying schools inside its boundary and a resident population of at least 500. Suburbs that fall below either threshold are excluded — not penalised — so the ranking isn't dominated by tiny, high-signal outliers.
How often is this list updated?
The top 15 is recomputed automatically after each ACARA schools data refresh, so the ranking reflects the most recent published NAPLAN-adjusted peer comparisons. See the footer of this page for the last computed date.
Same list in other cities
- Best Sydney suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Melbourne suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Perth suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Adelaide suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Hobart suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Darwin suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Canberra suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Newcastle suburbs for families with good primary schools
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Related
Rankings last computed 28 September 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.
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