Cawdor vs Highfields

Cawdor is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 45 in Highfields. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Cawdor: a median of $1.42 million, against $1.08 million in Highfields, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Cawdor tends to suit families with children and couples, while Highfields suits older residents 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

Highfields

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (16 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (9 vs 1)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (4 vs 0)
  • But Cawdor carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 40/100)

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

First-home buyers

Highfields

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($1,081,500 vs $1,422,500)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Highfields

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($410/wk vs $500/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Highfields

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (35/100 vs 0/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Highfields

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (35/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (23% vs 9%)
  • But Cawdor carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 40/100)

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 5.4%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Cawdor Highfields
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.

Cawdor Highfields
Walkability 0 / 35
Cawdor — Walkability: 0/100 Highfields — Walkability: 35/100
Safety 74 / 60
Cawdor — Safety: 74/100 Highfields — Safety: 60/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Cawdor — Low fire risk: 100/100 Highfields — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Highfields has more residents (8,568 vs 420); Cawdor has higher household incomes ($150,748 vs $103,688).

Cawdor Highfields
Population 420 8,568
+1940% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +18.0% +5.4%
Median age 37 45
Median household income $150,748/yr
+31% vs other
 $103,688/yr
Median weekly rent $500/wk
+18% vs other
 $410/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cawdor Highfields
0-4 6.4% / 4.5%
Cawdor — 0-4: 6.4% Highfields — 0-4: 4.5%
5-14 22.6% / 14.7%
Cawdor — 5-14: 22.6% Highfields — 5-14: 14.7%
15-19 8.6% / 8.1%
Cawdor — 15-19: 8.6% Highfields — 15-19: 8.1%
20-24 2.9% / 3.7%
Cawdor — 20-24: 2.9% Highfields — 20-24: 3.7%
25-34 6.0% / 7.1%
Cawdor — 25-34: 6.0% Highfields — 25-34: 7.1%
35-44 18.3% / 11.1%
Cawdor — 35-44: 18.3% Highfields — 35-44: 11.1%
45-54 16.9% / 14.5%
Cawdor — 45-54: 16.9% Highfields — 45-54: 14.5%
55-64 8.8% / 13.6%
Cawdor — 55-64: 8.8% Highfields — 55-64: 13.6%
65-74 5.0% / 13.5%
Cawdor — 65-74: 5.0% Highfields — 65-74: 13.5%
75-84 3.6% / 7.4%
Cawdor — 75-84: 3.6% Highfields — 75-84: 7.4%
85+ — / 2.0%
Cawdor — 85+: not among its largest Highfields — 85+: 2.0%

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

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cawdor 87.1% couple families
Cawdor — Couple Families: 87.1% Cawdor — Lone Person: 9.4% Cawdor — One Parent Families: 3.5% Cawdor — Group Household: 0.0% Cawdor — Other Families: 0.0%
Highfields 62.5% couple families
Highfields — Couple Families: 62.5% Highfields — Lone Person: 23.3% Highfields — One Parent Families: 11.7% Highfields — Group Household: 1.6% Highfields — Other Families: 0.9%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cawdor 9.8% renting
Cawdor — Owned Outright: 25.0% Cawdor — Mortgage: 65.2% Cawdor — Renting: 9.8%
Highfields 14.4% renting
Highfields — Owned Outright: 46.6% Highfields — Mortgage: 39.0% Highfields — Renting: 14.4%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Cawdor Highfields
Certificate III & IV 18.8% / 15.8%
Cawdor — Certificate III & IV: 18.8% Highfields — Certificate III & IV: 15.8%
Bachelor Degree 10.2% / 13.4%
Cawdor — Bachelor Degree: 10.2% Highfields — Bachelor Degree: 13.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.6% / 9.3%
Cawdor — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6% Highfields — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.3%
Postgraduate Degree 3.3% / 3.2%
Cawdor — Postgraduate Degree: 3.3% Highfields — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.9% / 2.7%
Cawdor — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.9% Highfields — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).

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.

Cawdor Highfields
England 2.6% / 2.8%
Cawdor — England: 2.6% Highfields — England: 2.8%
South Africa 1.7% / 1.2%
Cawdor — South Africa: 1.7% Highfields — South Africa: 1.2%
New Zealand 0.7% / 1.9%
Cawdor — New Zealand: 0.7% Highfields — New Zealand: 1.9%
Zimbabwe 0.7% / 0.9%
Cawdor — Zimbabwe: 0.7% Highfields — Zimbabwe: 0.9%
China 0.7% / —
Cawdor — China: 0.7% Highfields — China: not among its largest
Sri Lanka 0.7% / —
Cawdor — Sri Lanka: 0.7% Highfields — Sri Lanka: not among its largest
Scotland — / 0.4%
Cawdor — Scotland: not among its largest Highfields — Scotland: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cawdor 100.0% houses
Cawdor — Houses: 100.0% Cawdor — Townhouses: 0.0% Cawdor — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Highfields 96.2% houses
Highfields — Houses: 96.2% Highfields — Townhouses: 3.5% Highfields — Flats / Apartments: 0.3%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Cawdor Highfields
Median house price $1,422,500 $1,081,500
Median unit price — $647,000
Median land price — $921,111
Typical days to sell (houses) — 42 days
from 137 sales

Development activity

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

Cawdor Highfields
Houses — 3.3%
$755/wk on $1.2M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Cawdor Highfields
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 97% of QLD Higher than 76% of QLD
Schools — Higher than 87% of QLD
Walkability Higher than 47% of QLD Higher than 83% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 68% of QLD
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 77% of QLD Higher than 83% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 17% of QLD

Liveability

Highfields is more walkable (35 vs 0).

Cawdor Highfields
Grade — A
Score — 74/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Highfields carries more crime risk (40 vs 26).

Cawdor Highfields
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
26/100
 Moderate
40/100
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
 2
within 5 km

Schools

Cawdor Highfields
Inside the suburb 0 4
Rated above peers 0 2
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Cawdor

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

Schools in Highfields

  • Highfields State School Government · Primary above peers
  • Highfields State Secondary College Government · Secondary above peers
  • Mary MacKillop Catholic College Catholic · Combined at peers
  • Toowoomba Christian College Independent · Combined at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Cawdor Highfields
Supermarkets 0 3
Cafes & restaurants 0 6
Parks & reserves 0 16
Childcare 1 9
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 3
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 5
Waterways 5 6

Mobility

Cawdor Highfields
Walkability score 0/100 35/100
Distance to Brisbane 139.3 km
same for both
Drive time (normal traffic) 107 min 110 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.

Cawdor Highfields
Car (driver) 79.8% / 80.8%
Cawdor — Car (driver): 79.8% Highfields — Car (driver): 80.8%
Worked from Home 14.8% / 11.3%
Cawdor — Worked from Home: 14.8% Highfields — Worked from Home: 11.3%
Car (passenger) 5.5% / 5.3%
Cawdor — Car (passenger): 5.5% Highfields — Car (passenger): 5.3%
Walked Only — / 1.7%
Cawdor — Walked Only: not among its largest Highfields — Walked Only: 1.7%
Bus — / 0.5%
Cawdor — Bus: not among its largest Highfields — Bus: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (80.8%).

Setting

Cawdor Highfields
Elevation 544 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 640 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Cawdor Highfields
Connectivity score 66/100 74/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 46%
126 premises
 54%
3,935 premises

Climate

Cawdor Highfields
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)

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

Council rates

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

Federal electorate

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

First Home Owner Grant

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

Tags

Cawdor

Acreage Family River

Highfields

Regional Centre

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cawdor

Cawdor vs Meringandan West Cawdor vs Gowrie Junction Cawdor vs Glencoe Cawdor vs Birnam

Other comparisons with Highfields

Highfields vs Kleinton Highfields vs Cabarlah Highfields vs Blue Mountain Heights Highfields vs Meringandan Highfields vs Ballard Highfields vs Birnam
Full data on Cawdor Full data on Highfields
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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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