Birnam vs Cawdor

Cawdor is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 43 in Birnam. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and the large majority of households are couple families. On these figures, Cawdor tends to suit 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

Cawdor

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 94/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (91% vs 76%)

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

First-home buyers

Cawdor

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (17% vs 25%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Birnam

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($460/wk vs $500/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Birnam

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (135.9 km vs 139.3 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Cawdor

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 94/100)

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

Investors

Cawdor

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (18.0% vs -3.1%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Birnam Cawdor
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.

Birnam Cawdor
Walkability 4 / 0
Birnam — Walkability: 4/100 Cawdor — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 6 / 74
Birnam — Safety: 6/100 Cawdor — Safety: 74/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Birnam — Low fire risk: 100/100 Cawdor — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Cawdor has more residents (420 vs 63); Cawdor has higher household incomes ($150,748 vs $123,448).

Birnam Cawdor
Population 63 420
+567% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -3.1% +18.0%
Median age 43 37
Median household income $123,448/yr $150,748/yr
+22% vs other
Median weekly rent $460/wk $500/wk
+9% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Birnam Cawdor
0-4 7.9% / 6.4%
Birnam — 0-4: 7.9% Cawdor — 0-4: 6.4%
5-14 20.6% / 22.6%
Birnam — 5-14: 20.6% Cawdor — 5-14: 22.6%
15-19 6.3% / 8.6%
Birnam — 15-19: 6.3% Cawdor — 15-19: 8.6%
20-24 — / 2.9%
Birnam — 20-24: not among its largest Cawdor — 20-24: 2.9%
25-34 12.7% / 6.0%
Birnam — 25-34: 12.7% Cawdor — 25-34: 6.0%
35-44 9.5% / 18.3%
Birnam — 35-44: 9.5% Cawdor — 35-44: 18.3%
45-54 9.5% / 16.9%
Birnam — 45-54: 9.5% Cawdor — 45-54: 16.9%
55-64 20.6% / 8.8%
Birnam — 55-64: 20.6% Cawdor — 55-64: 8.8%
65-74 6.3% / 5.0%
Birnam — 65-74: 6.3% Cawdor — 65-74: 5.0%
75-84 — / 3.6%
Birnam — 75-84: not among its largest Cawdor — 75-84: 3.6%
85+ — / —
Birnam — 85+: not among its largest Cawdor — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Birnam 76.5% couple families
Birnam — Couple Families: 76.5% Birnam — Lone Person: 23.5% Birnam — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Cawdor 87.1% couple families
Cawdor — Couple Families: 87.1% Cawdor — Lone Person: 9.4% Cawdor — One Parent Families: 3.5%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Birnam 0.0% renting
Birnam — Owned Outright: 60.0% Birnam — Mortgage: 40.0% Birnam — Renting: 0.0%
Cawdor 9.8% renting
Cawdor — Owned Outright: 25.0% Cawdor — Mortgage: 65.2% Cawdor — Renting: 9.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Birnam 100.0% houses
Birnam — Houses: 100.0%
Cawdor 100.0% houses
Cawdor — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Birnam Cawdor
Certificate III & IV 22.2% / 18.8%
Birnam — Certificate III & IV: 22.2% Cawdor — Certificate III & IV: 18.8%
Bachelor Degree 12.7% / 10.2%
Birnam — Bachelor Degree: 12.7% Cawdor — Bachelor Degree: 10.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.9% / 7.6%
Birnam — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.9% Cawdor — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6%
Postgraduate Degree 9.5% / 3.3%
Birnam — Postgraduate Degree: 9.5% Cawdor — Postgraduate Degree: 3.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 2.9%
Birnam — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Cawdor — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.2%).

Property market

Birnam Cawdor
Median house price — $1,422,500
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Development activity

Birnam Cawdor
New dwellings approved 1,513
across Toowoomba
same for both
Approvals change year on year -25%
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Birnam Cawdor
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 91% of QLD Higher than 97% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 67% of QLD Higher than 47% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 67% of QLD Higher than 68% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 43% of QLD Higher than 77% of QLD

Liveability

Birnam Cawdor
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 very advantaged area
decile 10/10

Risk profile

Birnam carries more crime risk (94 vs 26).

Birnam Cawdor
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
94/100
 Low
26/100
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 3
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Birnam Cawdor
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 1
USQ (Toowoomba), 7.8 km
 None

Amenities in the suburb

Birnam Cawdor
Childcare 0 1
Waterways 1 5

Mobility

Cawdor sits further from the CBD (139.3 km vs 135.9 km).

Birnam Cawdor
Walkability score 4/100 0/100
Distance to Brisbane 135.9 km 139.3 km
+3% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 105 min 107 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 4352
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 84
postcode 4352
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.

Birnam Cawdor
Car (driver) 72.5% / 79.8%
Birnam — Car (driver): 72.5% Cawdor — Car (driver): 79.8%
Worked from Home 17.5% / 14.8%
Birnam — Worked from Home: 17.5% Cawdor — Worked from Home: 14.8%
Car (passenger) 10.0% / 5.5%
Birnam — Car (passenger): 10.0% Cawdor — Car (passenger): 5.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.8%).

Setting

Birnam Cawdor
Elevation 528 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 544 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Birnam Cawdor
Connectivity score 29/100 66/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
13 premises
 46%
126 premises

Climate

Birnam Cawdor
Annual rainfall 577 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.9°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Birnam Cawdor
PM2.5 4.9 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 12.0 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Birnam Cawdor
Average residential rate $1,618/yr
same for both
Council Toowoomba
same for both

Federal electorate

Birnam Cawdor
Division Groom
same for both
Member Garth Hamilton
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Birnam Cawdor
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Birnam

Family Rural

Cawdor

Acreage Family River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Birnam

Birnam vs Highfields Birnam vs Cranley Birnam vs Gowrie Junction Birnam vs Blue Mountain Heights Birnam vs Mount Kynoch

Other comparisons with Cawdor

Cawdor vs Highfields Cawdor vs Meringandan West Cawdor vs Gowrie Junction Cawdor vs Glencoe
Full data on Birnam Full data on Cawdor
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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