Ferny Hills vs Draper
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 Draper: a median of $1.82 million, against $1.1 million in Ferny Hills, and rent is higher there too. Ferny Hills is closer to the city centre: 16.1 km, against 24.8 km. On these figures, Ferny Hills tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Draper 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
Ferny Hills
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (17 vs 1)
- has more childcare (5 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
- But Draper is already more of a family suburb (90% vs 73%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Ferny Hills
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,100,000 vs $1,824,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Ferny Hills
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($448/wk vs $500/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Ferny Hills
ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (16.1 km vs 24.8 km)
- has a shorter drive in (29 min vs 36 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Ferny Hills
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 0/100)
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
Ferny Hills and Draper 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
Ferny Hills has more residents (8,726 vs 695); Draper has higher household incomes ($159,796 vs $118,092).
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 8,726 +92% vs other | 695 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -0.1% | +2.8% |
| Median age | 40 | 42 |
| Median household income | $118,092/yr | $159,796/yr +35% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $448/wk | $500/wk +12% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.3%).
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 (20.0%).
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 (6.0%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,100,000 | $1,824,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 22 days from 54 sales | — |
Development activity
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 6,996 across Moreton Bay same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +49% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.2% $780/wk on $1.27M | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 89% of QLD | Higher than 97% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 82% of QLD | Higher than 49% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 94% of QLD | Higher than 96% of QLD |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 83% of QLD | Higher than 68% of QLD |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 15% of QLD | — |
Liveability
Ferny Hills is more walkable (30 vs 0).
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | A+ | A |
| Score | 81/100 | 77/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 21/100 same for both | |
| 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 | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 2 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Ferny Hills
- Patricks Road State School Government · Primary at peers
- Ferny Hills State School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Draper
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 3 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 7 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 17 | 1 |
| Childcare | 5 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 6 | 5 |
Mobility
Draper sits further from the CBD (24.8 km vs 16.1 km).
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 30/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 16.1 km | 24.8 km +54% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 29 min | 36 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.1% postcode 4055 | 2.4% postcode 4520 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 78 postcode 4055 | — postcode 4520 |
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 (59.7%).
Setting
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 86 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 38 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 15.5 km | 14.2 km |
NBN connectivity
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 74/100 | 40/100 |
| Most common technology | Hybrid fibre-coaxial | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 7% 3,456 premises | 15% 241 premises |
Climate
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,032 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.5°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 8.9°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 4.6 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 13.4 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.74 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,577/yr same for both | |
| Council | Moreton Bay same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Dickson same for both | |
| Member | Ali France same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Ferny Hills | Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Ferny Hills
Draper
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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.