Cowley Beach vs Lower Cowley
Lower Cowley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 45 against 59 in Cowley Beach. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Cowley Beach, the large majority of households are people living alone. In Lower Cowley, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Cowley Beach tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Lower Cowley 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
Lower Cowley
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- is already more of a family suburb (53% vs 21%)
- carries lower crime risk (40/100 vs 78/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Cowley Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (12% vs 23%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Lower Cowley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($215/wk vs $250/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Lower Cowley
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (1086 min vs 1108 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (1592.4 km vs 1602.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Cowley Beach has more residents already 65 and over (48% vs 31%)
- Lower Cowley carries lower crime risk (40/100 vs 78/100)
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
Cowley Beach and Lower Cowley 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
Cowley Beach skews older (59 vs 45); Cowley Beach rents higher ($250/wk vs $215/wk).
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 65 +15% vs other | 55 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -16.7% | -14.1% |
| Median age | 59 | 45 |
| Median household income | $54,184/yr | $58,500/yr +8% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $250/wk +14% vs other | $215/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (29.2%).
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 (10.8%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.5%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $520,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Development activity
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 186 across Cassowary Coast same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +68% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 16% of QLD | — |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 22% of QLD | Higher than 7% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 25% of QLD | Higher than 24% of QLD |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 54% of QLD | Higher than 50% of QLD |
Liveability
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Lower Cowley carries more bushfire risk (59 vs 0); Cowley Beach carries more crime risk (78 vs 40).
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Moderate 59/100 |
| Crime | High 78/100 | Moderate 40/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | High 78/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Waterways | 4 | 0 |
Mobility
Cowley Beach sits further from the CBD (1602.3 km vs 1592.4 km).
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1602.3 km | 1592.4 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 1108 min | 1086 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 4871 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 51 postcode 4871 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (100.0%).
Setting
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 6 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 2 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 617 m | 3.2 km |
NBN connectivity
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 62 premises | 0% 28 premises |
Climate
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 3,534 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 31.4°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 16.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,829/yr same for both | |
| Council | Cassowary Coast same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Kennedy same for both | |
| Member | Bob Katter same for both | |
| Party | Katter's Australian Party (KAP) same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cowley Beach | Lower Cowley | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cowley Beach
Other comparisons with Lower Cowley
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.