Atherton vs Carrington

Atherton is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 54 in Carrington. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Atherton, about half of households are people living alone. In Carrington, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Carrington: a median of $845,000, against $574,000 in Atherton, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Atherton tends to suit people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget, while Carrington suits couples.

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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Atherton has more parks and reserves (15 vs 1)
  • Carrington carries lower crime risk (20/100 vs 90/100)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Atherton has cheaper houses ($574,000 vs $845,000)
  • Carrington leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 27%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Atherton

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (38% vs 11%)
  • has cheaper rent ($280/wk vs $338/wk)
  • But Carrington leaves renters under less rental stress (19% vs 26%)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Atherton

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (88/100 vs 4/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (1705.9 km vs 1708.8 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Atherton

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (88/100 vs 4/100)
  • has more GPs (5 vs 0)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 7%)
  • But Carrington carries lower crime risk (20/100 vs 90/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Atherton and Carrington drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Atherton Carrington
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Atherton Carrington
Walkability 88 / 4
Atherton — Walkability: 88/100 Carrington — Walkability: 4/100
Safety 10 / 80
Atherton — Safety: 10/100 Carrington — Safety: 80/100
Low fire risk 26 / 17
Atherton — Low fire risk: 26/100 Carrington — Low fire risk: 17/100

Demographics

Atherton has more residents (7,724 vs 191); Carrington has higher household incomes ($94,224 vs $57,148).

Atherton Carrington
Population 7,724
+98% vs other
 191
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +5.4% +0.5%
Median age 46 54
Median household income $57,148/yr $94,224/yr
+65% vs other
Median weekly rent $280/wk $338/wk
+21% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Atherton Carrington
0-4 4.5% / 2.1%
Atherton — 0-4: 4.5% Carrington — 0-4: 2.1%
5-14 12.4% / 9.4%
Atherton — 5-14: 12.4% Carrington — 5-14: 9.4%
15-19 6.1% / 7.3%
Atherton — 15-19: 6.1% Carrington — 15-19: 7.3%
20-24 4.6% / 1.6%
Atherton — 20-24: 4.6% Carrington — 20-24: 1.6%
25-34 11.6% / 8.9%
Atherton — 25-34: 11.6% Carrington — 25-34: 8.9%
35-44 9.5% / 6.3%
Atherton — 35-44: 9.5% Carrington — 35-44: 6.3%
45-54 11.9% / 18.3%
Atherton — 45-54: 11.9% Carrington — 45-54: 18.3%
55-64 12.3% / 20.4%
Atherton — 55-64: 12.3% Carrington — 55-64: 20.4%
65-74 13.8% / 23.0%
Atherton — 65-74: 13.8% Carrington — 65-74: 23.0%
75-84 9.0% / 5.2%
Atherton — 75-84: 9.0% Carrington — 75-84: 5.2%
85+ 4.3% / —
Atherton — 85+: 4.3% Carrington — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Atherton 26.4% couple families
Atherton — Couple Families: 26.4% Atherton — Lone Person: 47.8% Atherton — One Parent Families: 18.9% Atherton — Group Household: 4.9% Atherton — Other Families: 2.0%
Carrington 61.8% couple families
Carrington — Couple Families: 61.8% Carrington — Lone Person: 38.2% Carrington — One Parent Families: 0.0% Carrington — Group Household: 0.0% Carrington — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Atherton 38.5% renting
Atherton — Owned Outright: 38.5% Atherton — Mortgage: 23.0% Atherton — Renting: 38.5%
Carrington 10.8% renting
Carrington — Owned Outright: 41.9% Carrington — Mortgage: 47.3% Carrington — Renting: 10.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Atherton Carrington
Certificate III & IV 16.8% / 12.6%
Atherton — Certificate III & IV: 16.8% Carrington — Certificate III & IV: 12.6%
Bachelor Degree 8.0% / 14.1%
Atherton — Bachelor Degree: 8.0% Carrington — Bachelor Degree: 14.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.7% / 8.4%
Atherton — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7% Carrington — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4%
Postgraduate Degree 1.6% / 3.7%
Atherton — Postgraduate Degree: 1.6% Carrington — Postgraduate Degree: 3.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.5% / 3.1%
Atherton — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5% Carrington — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.8%).

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.

Atherton Carrington
England 2.8% / 5.2%
Atherton — England: 2.8% Carrington — England: 5.2%
New Zealand 1.9% / 1.6%
Atherton — New Zealand: 1.9% Carrington — New Zealand: 1.6%
Canada — / 2.1%
Atherton — Canada: not among its largest Carrington — Canada: 2.1%
Italy 0.8% / —
Atherton — Italy: 0.8% Carrington — Italy: not among its largest
Philippines 0.8% / —
Atherton — Philippines: 0.8% Carrington — Philippines: not among its largest
Germany 0.7% / —
Atherton — Germany: 0.7% Carrington — Germany: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Atherton 81.7% houses
Atherton — Houses: 81.7% Atherton — Flats / Apartments: 8.7% Atherton — Townhouses: 9.6%
Carrington 93.2% houses
Carrington — Houses: 93.2% Carrington — Flats / Apartments: 6.8% Carrington — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Atherton Carrington
Median house price $574,000 $845,000
Median unit price $384,000 —
Median land price $687,500 $715,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 40 days
from 94 sales
 —

Development activity

Atherton Carrington
New dwellings approved 167
across Tablelands
same for both
Approvals change year on year -80%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Atherton Carrington
Houses 3.7%
$510/wk on $722K
 —
Units 4.8%
$385/wk on $415K
 —

Ranking within QLD

Atherton Carrington
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 19% of QLD Higher than 67% of QLD
Schools Higher than 65% of QLD —
Walkability Higher than 98% of QLD Higher than 66% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 51% of QLD Higher than 50% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 80% of QLD Higher than 48% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 33% of QLD —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 66% of QLD —

Liveability

Atherton is more walkable (88 vs 4).

Atherton Carrington
Grade C —
Score 36/100 —
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10

Risk profile

Atherton carries more crime risk (90 vs 20).

Atherton Carrington
Bushfire High
74/100
 High
83/100
Crime High
90/100
 Low
20/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Atherton Carrington
Inside the suburb 4 0
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 3 0

Schools in Atherton

  • St Joseph's School Catholic · Primary above peers
  • Atherton State High School Government · Secondary below peers
  • Atherton State School Government · Primary below peers
  • Jubilee Christian College Independent · Combined below peers

Schools in Carrington

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Atherton Carrington
Supermarkets 2 0
Cafes & restaurants 12 0
Parks & reserves 15 1
Childcare 5 0
GPs 5 0
Pharmacies 4 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 7 0
Fuel stations 3 0
Waterways 12 2

Mobility

Carrington sits further from the CBD (1708.8 km vs 1705.9 km).

Atherton Carrington
Walkability score 88/100 4/100
Distance to Brisbane 1705.9 km 1708.8 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 1180 min 1184 min
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 4883
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 41
postcode 4883
same for both

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.

Atherton Carrington
Car (driver) 75.2% / 91.7%
Atherton — Car (driver): 75.2% Carrington — Car (driver): 91.7%
Worked from Home 8.6% / 8.3%
Atherton — Worked from Home: 8.6% Carrington — Worked from Home: 8.3%
Car (passenger) 8.2% / —
Atherton — Car (passenger): 8.2% Carrington — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Walked Only 6.0% / —
Atherton — Walked Only: 6.0% Carrington — Walked Only: not among its largest
Bus 1.3% / —
Atherton — Bus: 1.3% Carrington — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (91.7%).

Setting

Atherton Carrington
Elevation 785 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 801 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Atherton Carrington
Connectivity score 70/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 47%
4,376 premises
 0%
103 premises

Climate

Atherton Carrington
Annual rainfall 1,114 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 30.3°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 13.8°C
same for both

Council rates

Atherton Carrington
Average residential rate $1,609/yr
same for both
Council Tablelands
same for both

Federal electorate

Atherton Carrington
Division Kennedy
same for both
Member Bob Katter
same for both
Party Katter's Australian Party (KAP)
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Atherton Carrington
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Atherton

Affordable Parks Retirees River

Carrington

Retirees River Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Atherton

Atherton vs Tolga Atherton vs Kairi Atherton vs East Barron Atherton vs Wongabel Atherton vs Watsonville

Other comparisons with Carrington

Carrington vs Wongabel Carrington vs Watsonville
Full data on Atherton Full data on Carrington
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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.

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