Alva vs Brandon
Brandon is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 56 in Alva. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Brandon, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Alva: a median of $540,000, against $360,000 in Brandon, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Alva tends to suit older residents, while Brandon suits families with children and buyers on a tighter budget.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
Brandon
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Brandon
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- has cheaper houses ($360,000 vs $540,000)
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 24%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Brandon
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (13% vs 20%)
- has cheaper rent ($200/wk vs $250/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Brandon
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (867 min vs 874 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (1270.7 km vs 1278.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Alva has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 22%)
- Brandon is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Brandon
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (-0.5% vs -23.3%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Alva and Brandon drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Brandon has more residents (1,088 vs 214); Alva rents higher ($250/wk vs $200/wk).
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 214 | 1,088 +408% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -23.3% | -0.5% |
| Median age | 56 | 46 |
| Median household income | $64,116/yr | $78,208/yr +22% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $250/wk +20% vs other | $200/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.9%).
Where residents were born
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $540,000 | $360,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $182,500 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 47 days from 7 sales |
Development activity
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 22 across Burdekin same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -9% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 30% of QLD | Higher than 49% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 3% of QLD | Higher than 74% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 13% of QLD | — |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 49% of QLD | Higher than 71% of QLD |
Liveability
Brandon is more walkable (13 vs 0).
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | C |
| Score | — | 46/100 |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 54/100 | Moderate 45/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | High 97/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Alva
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Brandon
- Kalamia State School Government · Primary above peers
- Brandon State School Government · Primary below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 4 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 same for both | |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 3 | 5 |
Mobility
Alva sits further from the CBD (1278.3 km vs 1270.7 km).
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 13/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1278.3 km | 1270.7 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 874 min | 867 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 4807 | 0.0% postcode 4808 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 68 postcode 4807 | 81 postcode 4808 |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (84.8%).
Setting
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 6 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 11 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 3.0 km 4.7 km to a named beach | 13.6 km |
NBN connectivity
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 57/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Fibre to the node |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 172 premises | 31% 570 premises |
Climate
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 992 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.6 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 17.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,502/yr same for both | |
| Council | Burdekin same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Dawson same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Willcox same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Alva | Brandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Brandon
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Alva
Other comparisons with Brandon
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.