Thorneside vs Lota

In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Lota, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Thorneside tends to suit people living alone, while Lota 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

Lota

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (95% vs 64%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (68% vs 54%)
  • But Thorneside carries lower crime risk (33/100 vs 45/100)

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

First-home buyers

Lota

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 28%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Thorneside has cheaper rent ($370/wk vs $415/wk)
  • Lota leaves renters under less rental stress (19% vs 25%)

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

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Thorneside

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (36% vs 5%)
  • carries lower crime risk (33/100 vs 45/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

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

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Thorneside Lota
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.

Thorneside Lota
Walkability 56 / 57
Thorneside — Walkability: 56/100 Lota — Walkability: 57/100
Safety 67 / 55
Thorneside — Safety: 67/100 Lota — Safety: 55/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Thorneside — Low fire risk: 100/100 Lota — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Lota has higher household incomes ($116,272 vs $77,376); Lota rents higher ($415/wk vs $370/wk).

Thorneside Lota
Population 3,877
+9% vs other
 3,518
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.1% +8.0%
Median age 41 42
Median household income $77,376/yr $116,272/yr
+50% vs other
Median weekly rent $370/wk $415/wk
+12% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Thorneside Lota
0-4 5.8% / 5.4%
Thorneside — 0-4: 5.8% Lota — 0-4: 5.4%
5-14 13.6% / 14.3%
Thorneside — 5-14: 13.6% Lota — 5-14: 14.3%
15-19 4.3% / 5.5%
Thorneside — 15-19: 4.3% Lota — 15-19: 5.5%
20-24 4.9% / 5.2%
Thorneside — 20-24: 4.9% Lota — 20-24: 5.2%
25-34 12.4% / 8.7%
Thorneside — 25-34: 12.4% Lota — 25-34: 8.7%
35-44 13.9% / 15.3%
Thorneside — 35-44: 13.9% Lota — 35-44: 15.3%
45-54 12.7% / 14.9%
Thorneside — 45-54: 12.7% Lota — 45-54: 14.9%
55-64 13.3% / 13.5%
Thorneside — 55-64: 13.3% Lota — 55-64: 13.5%
65-74 12.5% / 9.2%
Thorneside — 65-74: 12.5% Lota — 65-74: 9.2%
75-84 5.2% / 5.4%
Thorneside — 75-84: 5.2% Lota — 75-84: 5.4%
85+ 1.4% / 2.6%
Thorneside — 85+: 1.4% Lota — 85+: 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Thorneside 33.3% couple families
Thorneside — Couple Families: 33.3% Thorneside — Lone Person: 40.0% Thorneside — One Parent Families: 21.0% Thorneside — Group Household: 4.3% Thorneside — Other Families: 1.3%
Lota 51.9% couple families
Lota — Couple Families: 51.9% Lota — Lone Person: 27.7% Lota — One Parent Families: 15.8% Lota — Group Household: 3.3% Lota — Other Families: 1.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Thorneside 29.4% renting
Thorneside — Owned Outright: 33.6% Thorneside — Mortgage: 37.0% Thorneside — Renting: 29.4%
Lota 23.0% renting
Lota — Owned Outright: 31.2% Lota — Mortgage: 45.8% Lota — Renting: 23.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Thorneside Lota
Certificate III & IV 18.3% / 14.7%
Thorneside — Certificate III & IV: 18.3% Lota — Certificate III & IV: 14.7%
Bachelor Degree 11.5% / 15.2%
Thorneside — Bachelor Degree: 11.5% Lota — Bachelor Degree: 15.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.6% / 8.7%
Thorneside — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6% Lota — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.7%
Postgraduate Degree 2.6% / 4.7%
Thorneside — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6% Lota — Postgraduate Degree: 4.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.0% / 2.8%
Thorneside — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.0% Lota — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.3%).

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.

Thorneside Lota
England 5.8% / 7.0%
Thorneside — England: 5.8% Lota — England: 7.0%
New Zealand 5.1% / 4.8%
Thorneside — New Zealand: 5.1% Lota — New Zealand: 4.8%
South Africa 0.8% / 1.4%
Thorneside — South Africa: 0.8% Lota — South Africa: 1.4%
Scotland 0.9% / 0.9%
Thorneside — Scotland: 0.9% Lota — Scotland: 0.9%
Ireland 0.5% / 0.7%
Thorneside — Ireland: 0.5% Lota — Ireland: 0.7%
Philippines 0.7% / —
Thorneside — Philippines: 0.7% Lota — Philippines: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Thorneside 63.5% houses
Thorneside — Houses: 63.5% Thorneside — Townhouses: 32.6% Thorneside — Flats / Apartments: 3.9%
Lota 95.3% houses
Lota — Houses: 95.3% Lota — Townhouses: 3.7% Lota — Flats / Apartments: 1.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Thorneside Lota
Median house price $1,260,000 $1,308,000
Median unit price $745,000 —
Median land price $1,375,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 23 days
from 35 sales
 24 days
from 38 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.

Thorneside Lota
2 bed $700K / $981K
Thorneside — 2 bed: $700K (5 sales) Lota — 2 bed: $981K (6 sales)

5 vs 6 sales

3 bed $1.01M / $1.13M
Thorneside — 3 bed: $1.01M (22 sales) Lota — 3 bed: $1.13M (43 sales)

22 vs 43 sales

4 bed $1.3M / $1.42M
Thorneside — 4 bed: $1.3M (29 sales) Lota — 4 bed: $1.42M (29 sales)

29 vs 29 sales

5 bed $2.25M / $1.51M
Thorneside — 5 bed: $2.25M (7 sales) Lota — 5 bed: $1.51M (9 sales)

7 vs 9 sales

Development activity

Thorneside Lota
New dwellings approved 1,598
across Redland
 9,382
across Brisbane
Approvals change year on year -26% +9%

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.

Thorneside Lota
Houses 3.6%
$680/wk on $989K
 3.5%
$780/wk on $1.18M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Thorneside Lota
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 48% of QLD —
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 88% of QLD
same for both
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 74% of QLD Higher than 89% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 82% of QLD Higher than 84% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 28% of QLD Higher than 23% of QLD

Liveability

Lota scores higher overall (78 vs 70).

Thorneside Lota
Grade A
same for both
Score 70/100 78/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Lota carries more crime risk (45 vs 33).

Thorneside Lota
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
33/100
 Moderate
45/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
 —
Coastal erosion Low
19/100
 Low
22/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Thorneside Lota
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Thorneside

  • South East Brisbane Steiner School Independent · Primary

Schools in Lota

  • Lota State School Government · Primary above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Thorneside Lota
Cafes & restaurants 1 2
Parks & reserves 8 9
Childcare 1 2
Pharmacies 1 0
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 0 2

Mobility

Thorneside Lota
Walkability score 56/100 57/100
Distance to Brisbane 23 km 22.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 34 min 33 min
Public transport score 80/100
Rail · Bus
 71/100
Rail · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 40.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 23.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.7%
postcode 4158
 1.4%
postcode 4179
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 56
postcode 4158
 65
postcode 4179

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.

Thorneside Lota
Car (driver) 70.3% / 62.1%
Thorneside — Car (driver): 70.3% Lota — Car (driver): 62.1%
Worked from Home 17.5% / 25.7%
Thorneside — Worked from Home: 17.5% Lota — Worked from Home: 25.7%
Train 6.0% / 6.7%
Thorneside — Train: 6.0% Lota — Train: 6.7%
Car (passenger) 4.2% / 4.0%
Thorneside — Car (passenger): 4.2% Lota — Car (passenger): 4.0%
Walked Only 0.9% / 0.4%
Thorneside — Walked Only: 0.9% Lota — Walked Only: 0.4%
Bicycle 0.2% / 0.6%
Thorneside — Bicycle: 0.2% Lota — Bicycle: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (70.3%).

Setting

Thorneside Lota
Elevation 6 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
same for both
Distance to the ocean 475 m
2.9 km to a named beach
 286 m
1.2 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Thorneside Lota
Connectivity score 73/100 75/100
Most common technology Hybrid fibre-coaxial
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
1,817 premises
 2%
1,444 premises

Climate

Thorneside Lota
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)

Thorneside Lota
PM2.5 3.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Thorneside Lota
Average residential rate $1,879/yr $1,519/yr
Council Redland Brisbane

Federal electorate

Thorneside Lota
Division Bowman Bonner
Member Henry Pike Kara Cook
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland Australian Labor Party

First Home Owner Grant

Thorneside Lota
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Thorneside

Coastal Middle-Ring Parks Quiet Townhouses Trains Transport Hub

Lota

Beach Coastal Large Blocks Middle-Ring Parks Quiet Trains

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Thorneside

Thorneside vs Birkdale Thorneside vs Ransome

Other comparisons with Lota

Lota vs Manly West Lota vs Wakerley Lota vs Manly Lota vs Ransome
Full data on Thorneside Full data on Lota
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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