Cosgrove vs Shaw

In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Cosgrove, most households rent. In Shaw, about half of households rent. Houses cost more in Shaw: a median of $708,000, against $649,000 in Cosgrove, though rent is higher in Cosgrove. On these figures, Cosgrove tends to suit young adults and share households, while Shaw suits families with children.

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

Shaw

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

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Shaw

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($322/wk vs $370/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Shaw

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (22/100 vs 12/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (930 min vs 936 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (1363.4 km vs 1366.9 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Shaw

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (22/100 vs 12/100)

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

Investors

Cosgrove

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (133.3% vs 38.2%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Cosgrove Shaw
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.

Cosgrove Shaw
Walkability 12 / 22
Cosgrove — Walkability: 12/100 Shaw — Walkability: 22/100
Safety 11 / 13
Cosgrove — Safety: 11/100 Shaw — Safety: 13/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Cosgrove — Low fire risk: 100/100 Shaw — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Cosgrove rents higher ($370/wk vs $322/wk).

Cosgrove Shaw
Population 665 760
+14% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +133.3% +38.2%
Median age 27 28
Median household income $102,752/yr $104,832/yr
+2% vs other
Median weekly rent $370/wk
+13% vs other
 $322/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cosgrove Shaw
0-4 7.7% / 7.9%
Cosgrove — 0-4: 7.7% Shaw — 0-4: 7.9%
5-14 11.9% / 16.1%
Cosgrove — 5-14: 11.9% Shaw — 5-14: 16.1%
15-19 5.7% / 4.6%
Cosgrove — 15-19: 5.7% Shaw — 15-19: 4.6%
20-24 16.2% / 9.9%
Cosgrove — 20-24: 16.2% Shaw — 20-24: 9.9%
25-34 28.7% / 22.8%
Cosgrove — 25-34: 28.7% Shaw — 25-34: 22.8%
35-44 11.3% / 15.3%
Cosgrove — 35-44: 11.3% Shaw — 35-44: 15.3%
45-54 8.3% / 9.6%
Cosgrove — 45-54: 8.3% Shaw — 45-54: 9.6%
55-64 4.8% / 6.2%
Cosgrove — 55-64: 4.8% Shaw — 55-64: 6.2%
65-74 4.1% / 5.4%
Cosgrove — 65-74: 4.1% Shaw — 65-74: 5.4%
75-84 0.9% / 1.3%
Cosgrove — 75-84: 0.9% Shaw — 75-84: 1.3%
85+ — / 0.4%
Cosgrove — 85+: not among its largest Shaw — 85+: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (28.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cosgrove 39.9% couple families
Cosgrove — Couple Families: 39.9% Cosgrove — Lone Person: 27.0% Cosgrove — One Parent Families: 20.2% Cosgrove — Group Household: 12.9%
Shaw 41.9% couple families
Shaw — Couple Families: 41.9% Shaw — Lone Person: 31.8% Shaw — One Parent Families: 24.2% Shaw — Group Household: 2.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cosgrove 60.7% renting
Cosgrove — Owned Outright: 5.4% Cosgrove — Mortgage: 33.9% Cosgrove — Renting: 60.7%
Shaw 51.2% renting
Shaw — Owned Outright: 8.4% Shaw — Mortgage: 40.4% Shaw — Renting: 51.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Cosgrove Shaw
Certificate III & IV 18.5% / 16.7%
Cosgrove — Certificate III & IV: 18.5% Shaw — Certificate III & IV: 16.7%
Bachelor Degree 8.4% / 13.0%
Cosgrove — Bachelor Degree: 8.4% Shaw — Bachelor Degree: 13.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.6% / 5.9%
Cosgrove — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.6% Shaw — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.9%
Postgraduate Degree 1.8% / 2.4%
Cosgrove — Postgraduate Degree: 1.8% Shaw — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.4% / 1.7%
Cosgrove — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4% Shaw — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.5%).

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.

Cosgrove Shaw
Philippines 1.7% / 4.1%
Cosgrove — Philippines: 1.7% Shaw — Philippines: 4.1%
New Zealand 2.9% / 2.6%
Cosgrove — New Zealand: 2.9% Shaw — New Zealand: 2.6%
England 1.5% / 3.0%
Cosgrove — England: 1.5% Shaw — England: 3.0%
South Africa 0.8% / 1.2%
Cosgrove — South Africa: 0.8% Shaw — South Africa: 1.2%
India 0.5% / 1.2%
Cosgrove — India: 0.5% Shaw — India: 1.2%
Zimbabwe — / 1.4%
Cosgrove — Zimbabwe: not among its largest Shaw — Zimbabwe: 1.4%
Vietnam 0.8% / —
Cosgrove — Vietnam: 0.8% Shaw — Vietnam: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cosgrove 89.6% houses
Cosgrove — Houses: 89.6% Cosgrove — Townhouses: 11.2% Cosgrove — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Shaw 93.2% houses
Shaw — Houses: 93.2% Shaw — Townhouses: 3.1% Shaw — Flats / Apartments: 3.7%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Cosgrove Shaw
Median house price $648,625 $708,500
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price — $253,400
Typical days to sell (houses) 19 days
from 9 sales
 26 days
from 17 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.

Cosgrove Shaw
3 bed $622K / $645K
Cosgrove — 3 bed: $622K (23 sales) Shaw — 3 bed: $645K (17 sales)

23 vs 17 sales

4 bed $698K / $728K
Cosgrove — 4 bed: $698K (14 sales) Shaw — 4 bed: $728K (54 sales)

14 vs 54 sales

Development activity

Cosgrove Shaw
New dwellings approved 1,096
across Townsville
same for both
Approvals change year on year -22%
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.

Cosgrove Shaw
Houses 4.7%
$630/wk on $700K
 4.3%
$635/wk on $762K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Cosgrove Shaw
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 76% of QLD Higher than 77% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 73% of QLD Higher than 80% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 70% of QLD
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 100% of QLD Higher than 86% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 82% of QLD Higher than 70% of QLD

Liveability

Shaw is more walkable (22 vs 12); Shaw scores higher overall (40 vs 29).

Cosgrove Shaw
Grade D C
Score 29/100 40/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Cosgrove Shaw
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
89/100
 High
87/100
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 8
within 5 km
 6
within 5 km

Schools

Cosgrove Shaw
Inside the suburb 0 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0 1

Schools in Cosgrove

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

Schools in Shaw

  • St Benedict's Catholic School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Mary Help of Christians Catholic College Catholic · Secondary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Cosgrove Shaw
Parks & reserves 2
same for both
Childcare 0 2

Mobility

Cosgrove sits further from the CBD (1366.9 km vs 1363.4 km).

Cosgrove Shaw
Walkability score 12/100 22/100
Distance to Brisbane 1366.9 km 1363.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 936 min 930 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 4818
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 87
postcode 4818
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.

Cosgrove Shaw
Car (driver) 88.8% / 88.6%
Cosgrove — Car (driver): 88.8% Shaw — Car (driver): 88.6%
Worked from Home 5.3% / 6.2%
Cosgrove — Worked from Home: 5.3% Shaw — Worked from Home: 6.2%
Car (passenger) 3.4% / 4.3%
Cosgrove — Car (passenger): 3.4% Shaw — Car (passenger): 4.3%
Bus 2.5% / —
Cosgrove — Bus: 2.5% Shaw — Bus: not among its largest
Walked Only — / 0.8%
Cosgrove — Walked Only: not among its largest Shaw — Walked Only: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (88.8%).

Setting

Cosgrove Shaw
Elevation 16 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 14 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 8.4 km 9.1 km

NBN connectivity

Cosgrove Shaw
Connectivity score 100/100 75/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 100%
363 premises
 65%
214 premises

Climate

Cosgrove Shaw
Annual rainfall 1,304 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.8°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 15.0°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Cosgrove Shaw
PM2.5 6.0 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 15.6 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.25 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Cosgrove Shaw
Average residential rate $1,810/yr
same for both
Council Townsville
same for both

Federal electorate

Cosgrove Shaw
Division Herbert
same for both
Member Phillip Thompson
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cosgrove Shaw
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Cosgrove

Acreage Affordable Students

Shaw

Acreage Family

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cosgrove

Cosgrove vs Mount Louisa Cosgrove vs Burdell Cosgrove vs Bohle

Other comparisons with Shaw

Shaw vs Kirwan Shaw vs Mount Louisa Shaw vs Burdell Shaw vs Deeragun Shaw vs Bohle Plains Shaw vs Bohle
Full data on Cosgrove Full data on Shaw
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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