Bowen QLD 4805
Bowen sits 1,173 km from Brisbane CBD in Queensland, around 13 hours 20 minutes by car. Census data records 11,205 residents with a median age of 42 and a median household income of $69,836 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The town grew 8.0% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $270 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,500. Bowen is characterised by high coastal erosion risk and high crime risk. 6 schools sit within the town boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Bowen a good town?
Bowen scores a D (16/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on schools, transit, safety, and community.
Below the state average
6 schools · Bottom 5% in QLD
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 1172.9 km · 801 min drive to Brisbane
Median available
Median $550K
High crime risk
Fire 33/100 · Crime 77/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 42 · 11,205 residents
Liveability Rating
16 / 100 · Ranked #1048 in QLDEach bar is Bowen's rank among QLD suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
Flood data for Queensland covers only the areas mapped there — a blank here is not an all-clear.
How do you rate the liveability in Bowen?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
16 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataBowen's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $550,000, roughly 17% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$550,000
Based on 321 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 46 days — median across 146 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 10 sales $340K
- 2 bed 44 sales $418K
- 3 bed 117 sales $515K
- 4 bed 131 sales $635K
- 5 bed 8 sales $748K
Land
$205,000
Based on 67 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 72 days — median across 22 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Bowen are currently listed at around $648,000 on average. Based on 173 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$648K
173 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$428K
14 units listed in the last 6 months.
187 of the suburb's 4,046 dwellings (4.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Bowen rent for around $600 a week on average, based on 40 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$600/wk
40 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$400/wk
10 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
50 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,590 rented homes (3.1%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $600/wk
- 18 bonds
- +72% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $460/wk
- 28 bonds
- +46% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025117 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 26% of its income on the median rent in postcode 4805.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$600/week ($31,000 a year) on a $648,000 median
$400/week ($21,000 a year) on a $428,000 median
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Is Bowen safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Bowen sits in the high band, with 259 incidents recorded in 2025 — down about 5% on the prior year.
259 offences
4.8% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–202494 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 4 of them fatal
Where they happened
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 15.8 km
- Rate
- -0.27 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -8.7 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Six schools serve Bowen, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 1,676 students across 5 schools (avg 335)
- • Sectors: 4 Government, 2 Catholic
- • ICSEA 881-967, median 927 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Bowen State High School (679 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Bowen is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 18 parks and 5 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Bowen.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 4.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 35.7 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 16.5 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 5.9 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Bowen.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 25%
- Premises covered
- 5,688
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Whitsunday: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 28 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 5 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Bowen is home to about 11,200 residents, with a median age of 42, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $70,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
11,205
Median Age
42
Median Household Income
$69,836/yr
Census Median Rent
$270/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,500/mo
Avg Household Size
2.4
Median Personal Income
$36,920/yr
Unemployment Rate
4.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
15.3%
Total Dwellings
4,046
Owner-Occupier Rate
60.7%
Houses
83.2%
Rental Stress
20.1%
Mortgage Stress
25.8%
Work From Home
5.5%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
174 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 92 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,518 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 75.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 81.8%
- Employment Rate
- 53.4%
- Completed Year 12
- 29.7%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
494 residents (4.4%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
4.4% of residents (472) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (266).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 10,637 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (69 of 4,892).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 3,703 people work here; 4,892 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.8 per resident). At least 15% of employed residents must work outside the town.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,412 a year through Whitsunday based on 2025 figures.
Building Approvals: Whitsunday
In the year to August 2026, 190 new dwellings were approved across Whitsunday. That mix is 166 houses and 24 units. Approvals are up 70.0% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this town: at least 1,716 homes
- In 2 to 5 years 235 to 820 homes
- In 5 to 10 years at least 929 homes
- No timeframe set at least 552 homes
Land the Queensland Government's residential land supply study identifies for future housing (71 parcels), by when it expects lots to be registered. Yields are published in ranges, so these are too.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Aboriginal party for this area is Juru People (Part A).
Under Queensland's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 the Aboriginal party for an area follows native title. Native title over this area has been determined.
Setting
- Elevation
- 44 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 15.8 km
Elevation is the ground at the town centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
EV adoption
In postcode 4805, 16 of 10,432 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.3% (135 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.4%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 4805, 3,029 rooftop-solar systems totalling 24.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 4,835 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 258 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$30,000 for new homes priced up to $750,000.
$30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, with no end date. IT DID NOT REVERT TO $15,000: the tier was due to end 30 June 2026 and the 2026-27 Queensland Budget (23 June 2026) continued it for contracts signed from 1 July 2026. This file carried a "due to revert" note until 2026-09-18 — it was never true, and a note predicting a change is not the same as a change. Cap is "less than $750,000" including land and contract variations — less than, not up to. New homes only: "There are no home owner grants for established homes."
Mortgage repayments
Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Queensland Revenue Office
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $750,000 may qualify for $30,000 — see what qualifies with Queensland Revenue Office.
At $550,000 this is under the $750,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $30,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Queensland Revenue Office.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Andrew Willcox Liberal National Party of Queensland
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Andrew Willcox | 38.2% | 61.8% | -1.4 |
| 2022 | Andrew Willcox | 39.6% | 60.4% | -4.2 |
| 2019 | George Christensen | 35.4% | 64.6% | +11.2 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Dale Last Liberal National Party of Queensland
Next state election: 28 October 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Dale Last LNP | 65.8% |
| 2020 | Dale Last LNP | 57.0% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2017, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of Queensland.
Looking at a specific address in Bowen?
Every figure above is a town average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 11,205 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Bowen to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other QLD suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Bowen
Is Bowen a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Bowen is high (77/100, ranked against other QLD suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Bowen?
Bowen has a low recorded bushfire history (33/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Bowen a good place to live?
Bowen has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (16/100), ranked against other QLD suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Bowen?
Bowen, QLD had a population of 11,205 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Bowen, QLD?
The postcode for Bowen, QLD is 4805.
How far is Bowen from Brisbane?
Bowen is 1,173 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 801 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Bowen?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Bowen was $69,836 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Bowen?
The median advertised rent in Bowen is $600 a week for houses (40 listings) and $400 a week for units (10 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Bowen?
The median age of residents in Bowen was 42 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Bowen at risk of bushfire?
Bowen has a low recorded bushfire history (33/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
How are the schools in Bowen?
There are 6 schools inside the Bowen boundary: 4 at and 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Bowen?
First-home buyers in QLD may be eligible for $30,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $750,000. The grant is administered by Queensland Revenue Office; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Bowen belong to?
Bowen sits within the Whitsunday local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Bowen?
The average residential rates bill through Whitsunday is $1,412 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Bowen?
Across Whitsunday, 190 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 70.0% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Bowen in?
Bowen sits within the federal Division of Dawson, currently held by Andrew Willcox (Liberal National Party of Queensland).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2025–26
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2020–2024
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2024
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.