Benowa vs Broadbeach Waters
In both, the large majority of households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Benowa, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Broadbeach Waters: a median of $2.59 million, against $1.67 million in Benowa. On these figures, Benowa tends to suit 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
Benowa
ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more schools rated above their peers (3 vs 0)
- has more childcare (9 vs 3)
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 91/100)
- But Broadbeach Waters has more separate houses rather than flats (78% vs 61%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Benowa
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has cheaper land ($1,345,444 vs $2,550,000)
- has cheaper houses ($1,665,000 vs $2,591,000)
- But Broadbeach Waters has cheaper units ($920,000 vs $1,050,000)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Benowa
ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (75/100 vs 57/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (75.3 km vs 82.4 km)
- has a shorter drive in (61 min vs 66 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Benowa
ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more GPs (6 vs 3)
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 91/100)
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (39% vs 22%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Benowa
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is growing faster (13.1% vs 4.9%)
- returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.2% vs 2.9%)
- But Broadbeach Waters returns a higher gross yield on units (4.8% vs 4.1%)
Weighs house yield, unit yield, and population growth.
Where they sit
Benowa and Broadbeach Waters 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
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,889 +17% vs other | 8,164 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +13.1% | +4.9% |
| Median age | 44 | 43 |
| Median household income | $99,736/yr | $107,744/yr +8% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $580/wk | $600/wk +3% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.4%).
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 (16.2%).
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 (6.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,665,000 | $2,591,000 |
| Median unit price | $1,050,000 | $920,000 |
| Median land price | $1,345,444 | $2,550,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 28 days from 72 sales | 30 days from 150 sales |
House price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
38 vs 45 sales
59 vs 108 sales
13 vs 44 sales
6 vs 10 sales
Development activity
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 7,196 across Gold Coast same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -35% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.2% $1,300/wk on $1.6M | 2.9% $1,515/wk on $2.75M |
| Units | 4.1% $950/wk on $1.2M | 4.8% $800/wk on $870K |
Ranking within QLD
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 74% of QLD | Higher than 80% of QLD |
| Schools | Higher than 100% of QLD | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 94% of QLD | Higher than 89% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 94% of QLD | Higher than 92% of QLD |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 85% of QLD | Higher than 84% of QLD |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 65% of QLD | Higher than 9% of QLD |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 36% of QLD | Higher than 65% of QLD |
Liveability
Benowa scores higher overall (83 vs 58); Benowa is more walkable (75 vs 57).
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | A+ | B |
| Score | 83/100 | 58/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Broadbeach Waters carries more crime risk (91 vs 46).
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 46/100 | High 91/100 |
| Flood | — same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 7 within 5 km | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 3 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 3 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
| Universities within 10 km | 2 Gold Coast, 4.2 km | 2 Gold Coast campus, 5.3 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.5% | 2.4% |
Schools in Benowa
- Benowa State High School Government · Secondary above peers
- Benowa State School Government · Primary above peers
- St Kevin's School Catholic · Primary above peers
Schools in Broadbeach Waters
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 2 same for both | |
| Cafes & restaurants | 3 | 5 |
| Parks & reserves | 19 same for both | |
| Childcare | 9 | 3 |
| GPs | 6 | 3 |
| Pharmacies | 2 | 4 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 6 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 1 |
| EV chargers | 0 | 2 |
| Waterways | 0 | 1 |
Mobility
Broadbeach Waters sits further from the CBD (82.4 km vs 75.3 km).
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 75/100 | 57/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 75.3 km | 82.4 km +9% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 61 min | 66 min |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus same for both | |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 40.0 7-9am + 5-7pm | 126.2 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual | 0 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.1% postcode 4217 | 1.7% postcode 4218 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 19 postcode 4217 | 32 postcode 4218 |
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 (71.2%).
Setting
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 3 m above sea level, at the suburb centre same for both | |
| Distance to the ocean | 4.6 km 4.6 km to a named beach | 2.0 km 2.0 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 75/100 | 74/100 |
| Most common technology | Hybrid fibre-coaxial same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 13% 4,178 premises | 2% 4,320 premises |
Climate
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,351 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 28.9°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 12.5°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 4.9 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.43 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,298/yr same for both | |
| Council | Gold Coast same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Moncrieff same for both | |
| Member | Angie Bell same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Benowa | Broadbeach Waters | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Benowa
Broadbeach Waters
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Benowa
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.