Burrum Heads is a town in Queensland, 291 km from Brisbane CBD, around 3 hours 30 minutes by car. Population is 2,538; the median age is 64 and the median household income is $42,380 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The town grew 22.8% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $305 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,348. Burrum Heads is characterised by high coastal erosion risk and high bushfire risk. Walkability is low.
Is Burrum Heads a good town?
Burrum Heads scores a D (18/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit and community.
Car-dependent
Walkability 6/100 · 290.8 km · 209 min drive to Brisbane
Median available
Median $822K
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 66/100 · Crime 45/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 64 · 2,538 residents
Liveability Rating
18 / 100 · Ranked #1038 in QLDEach bar is Burrum Heads's rank among QLD suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
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 Burrum Heads?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
18 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataBurrum Heads's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $822,000, about 3% above where it sat a year earlier.
$822,500
In line with its 3 neighbours (median $810,000)
Based on 100 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 60 days — median across 34 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $715K
- 3 bed 39 sales $800K
- 4 bed 49 sales $830K
- 5 bed 5 sales $880K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Burrum Heads are currently listed at around $945,000 on average. Based on 73 houses listed in the past six months.
$945K
73 houses listed in the last 6 months.
73 of the suburb's 1,149 dwellings (6.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Burrum Heads rent for around $640 a week on average, based on 52 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$640/wk
52 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
52 rentals advertised against an estimated 170 rented homes (30.6%) in the last 6 months.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$640/week ($33,000 a year) on a $945,000 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 Burrum Heads safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Burrum Heads sits in the moderate band, with 17 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 70% on the prior year.
17 offences
70.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–2024No crash in Burrum Heads killed anyone or put anyone in hospital in 2020–2024.
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
- 2.7 km
- Rate
- -1.08 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -38.7 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Walkability
Burrum Heads is very car-dependent on foot — at 6/100, nearly all errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Burrum Heads.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 0.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 1.6 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 1.6 arrivals/hr
- Span of service
- 5.2 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 Burrum Heads.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 55%
- Premises covered
- 1,763
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
Fraser Coast: 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 7 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 3 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the town closely.
Burrum Heads is home to about 2,500 residents, with a median age of 64 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $42,000 a year, with unemployment at 8.2%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,538
Median Age
64
Median Household Income
$42,380/yr
Census Median Rent
$305/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,348/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$23,400/yr
Unemployment Rate
8.2%
Unoccupied Dwellings
18.7%
Total Dwellings
1,149
Owner-Occupier Rate
85.2%
Houses
89.4%
Rental Stress
37.4%
Mortgage Stress
38.2%
Work From Home
14.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 78.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 92.3%
- Employment Rate
- 25.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 25.7%
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.
13 residents (0.5%) 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.
13.9% of residents (347) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (260).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,495 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
Local Jobs
People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 210 people work here; 609 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 64% 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 $1,576 a year through Fraser Coast based on 2025 figures.
Building Approvals: Fraser Coast
In the year to August 2026, 1,578 new dwellings were approved across Fraser Coast. That mix is 1,395 houses and 183 units. Approvals are down 8.2% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this town: 463 to 1,825 homes
- Within 2 years 6 to 20 homes
- In 2 to 5 years 203 to 700 homes
- In 5 to 10 years 253 to 1,100 homes
- No timeframe set 1 to 5 homes
Land the Queensland Government's residential land supply study identifies for future housing (8 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 Butchulla People Land & Sea Claim #2.
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.
Climate & Setting
from Maryborough, 35.4 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- -5 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 2.7 km
- Annual rainfall
- 1,074 mm
- 91 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 31.0°C
- 5 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 9.7°C
- 0 frost days ≤ 0°C
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 4659, 12 of 5,579 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.1% (63 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.3%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 4659, 2,499 rooftop-solar systems totalling 13.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,668 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 197 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 $822,500 this is $72,500 above 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 David Batt Liberal National Party of Queensland
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | David Batt | 43.7% | 56.3% | +3.8 |
| 2022 | Keith Pitt | 39.9% | 60.1% | -4.4 |
| 2019 | Keith Pitt | 35.5% | 64.5% | +6.1 |
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 John Barounis Liberal National Party of Queensland
Next state election: 28 October 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | John Barounis LNP | 52.8% |
| 2020 | Bruce Saunders ALP | 61.9% |
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 Burrum Heads?
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 2,538 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
Toogoom QLD 4655
Woodgate QLD 4660
Buxton QLD 4660
Burrum River QLD 4659
Beelbi Creek QLD 4659
Coral Sea QLD 4740
Compare Burrum Heads 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 Burrum Heads
Is Burrum Heads a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Burrum Heads is moderate (45/100, ranked against other QLD suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Burrum Heads?
Burrum Heads has a moderate recorded bushfire history (66/100, 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 Burrum Heads a good place to live?
Burrum Heads has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (18/100), 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 Burrum Heads?
Burrum Heads, QLD had a population of 2,538 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Burrum Heads, QLD?
The postcode for Burrum Heads, QLD is 4659.
How far is Burrum Heads from Brisbane?
Burrum Heads is 291 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 209 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Burrum Heads?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Burrum Heads was $42,380 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 Burrum Heads?
The median advertised rent in Burrum Heads is $640 a week for houses (52 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Burrum Heads?
The median age of residents in Burrum Heads was 64 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Burrum Heads at risk of bushfire?
Burrum Heads has a moderate recorded bushfire history (66/100). 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.
Is Burrum Heads walkable?
Burrum Heads scores 6/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the weather like in Burrum Heads?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Burrum Heads, Maryborough (35.4 km away), summer days average 31°C, winter nights 9.7°C, 1,074 mm of rain a year over 91 rainy days, and 5 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Burrum Heads?
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 Burrum Heads belong to?
Burrum Heads sits within the Fraser Coast local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Burrum Heads?
The average residential rates bill through Fraser Coast is $1,576 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Burrum Heads?
Across Fraser Coast, 1,578 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 8.2% 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 Burrum Heads in?
Burrum Heads sits within the federal Division of Hinkler, currently held by David Batt (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
- Climate · 2006–2026
- 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.