Russell Island QLD 4184
Located in Queensland, Russell Island sits 53 km from Brisbane CBD, around 1 hour 25 minutes by car. The town has 3,698 residents, a median age of 59, and a median household income of $39,312 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The town grew 30.4% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $260 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $867. Russell Island is characterised by high crime risk and high coastal erosion risk. All 1 school within the town boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Russell Island a good town?
Russell Island scores a D (29/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit, safety, and community.
Mixed results
1 school · 1 above peer schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 10/100 · 52.6 km · 87 min drive to Brisbane
Median available
Median $500K
High crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 78/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 59 · 3,698 residents
Liveability Rating
29 / 100 · Ranked #950 in QLDEach bar is Russell Island'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 Russell Island?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
29 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataRussell Island's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $500,000, roughly 12% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$500,000
Based on 172 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 62 days — median across 45 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 48 sales $455K
- 3 bed 106 sales $520K
- 4 bed 15 sales $730K
Land
$155,000
Based on 61 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 42 days — median across 20 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Russell Island are currently listed at around $575,000 on average. Based on 178 houses listed in the past six months.
$575K
178 houses listed in the last 6 months.
178 of the suburb's 1,760 dwellings (10.1%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Russell Island rent for around $472 a week on average, based on 34 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$472/wk
34 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
36 rentals advertised against an estimated 468 rented homes (7.7%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $480/wk
- 25 bonds
- +59% 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 2025151 Affordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 20% of its income on the median rent in postcode 4184.
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$472/week ($25,000 a year) on a $575,000 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 Russell Island safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Russell Island sits in the high band, with 204 incidents recorded in 2025 — down about 8% on the prior year.
204 offences
8.1% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–202412 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 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
- 550 m
- Rate
- -0.19 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -10.2 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
One school serve Russell Island, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Russell Island State School leads the pack.
- • 179 students in one school (avg 179)
Primary
Walkability
Russell Island is very car-dependent on foot — at 10/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 1 supermarket, 11 parks and 3 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.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Russell Island.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 66%
- Premises covered
- 2,634
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
Redland: 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 10 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the town closely.
Russell Island is home to about 3,700 residents, with a median age of 59 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $39,000 a year, with unemployment at 14.4%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
3,698
Median Age
59
Median Household Income
$39,312/yr
Census Median Rent
$260/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$867/mo
Avg Household Size
1.9
Median Personal Income
$23,348/yr
Unemployment Rate
14.4%
Unoccupied Dwellings
22.0%
Total Dwellings
1,760
Owner-Occupier Rate
73.4%
Houses
98.8%
Rental Stress
34.4%
Mortgage Stress
26.5%
Work From Home
26.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 65.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 85.8%
- Employment Rate
- 25.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 28.6%
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.
34 residents (0.9%) 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.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 3,607 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
4% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (32 of 867).
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.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,879 a year through Redland based on 2025 figures.
Building Approvals: Redland
In the year to August 2026, 1,598 new dwellings were approved across Redland. That mix is 1,243 houses and 355 units. Approvals are down 26.3% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
No native title party is registered for this area. Under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 the Aboriginal party is then whoever is recognised under tradition or custom as responsible for the area — which a native title register cannot show.
Air Quality
CLEANPM2.5 averaged 5 µg/m³ in 2025 — below the WHO 2021 annual guideline (5 µg/m³).
PM10 averaged 14.5 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.42 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 0 · NO₂ 0.
From the Coomera (South East Queensland) monitoring station, 22.2 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Gold Coast Seaway, 30.2 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 27 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 546 m
- Near high-voltage lines
- 12.4% of addresses
- 1,280 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 1,351 mm
- 96 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 28.9°C
- 1 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 12.5°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 4184, 25 of 10,765 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 0.8% (81 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 4184, 3,620 rooftop-solar systems totalling 18.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,157 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 240 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
2 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 4184.
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 $500,000 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 Henry Pike Liberal National Party of Queensland
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Henry Pike | 47.6% | 52.4% | +3.1 |
| 2022 | Henry Pike | 44.5% | 55.5% | -4.7 |
| 2019 | Andrew Laming | 39.8% | 60.2% | +3.2 |
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 Rebecca Young Liberal National Party of Queensland
Next state election: 28 October 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Rebecca Young LNP | 51.9% |
| 2020 | Kim Richards ALP | 53.9% |
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 Russell Island?
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 3,698 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 Russell Island 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 Russell Island
Is Russell Island a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Russell Island is high (78/100, 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 Russell Island?
Russell Island has no recorded bushfire history. These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Russell Island a good place to live?
Russell Island has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (29/100), 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 Russell Island?
Russell Island, QLD had a population of 3,698 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Russell Island, QLD?
The postcode for Russell Island, QLD is 4184.
How far is Russell Island from Brisbane?
Russell Island is 53 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 87 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Russell Island?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Russell Island was $39,312 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 Russell Island?
The median advertised rent in Russell Island is $472 a week for houses (34 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Russell Island?
The median age of residents in Russell Island was 59 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Russell Island?
There is 1 school inside the Russell Island boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Russell Island walkable?
Russell Island scores 10/100 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 air quality in Russell Island?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Russell Island (Coomera (South East Queensland)) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.0 µg/m³ and PM10 of 14.5 µg/m³. That puts Russell Island below the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Russell Island?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Russell Island, Gold Coast Seaway (30.2 km away), summer days average 28.9°C, winter nights 12.5°C, 1,351 mm of rain a year over 96 rainy days, and 1 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Russell Island?
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 Russell Island belong to?
Russell Island sits within the Redland local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Russell Island?
The average residential rates bill through Redland is $1,879 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Russell Island?
Across Redland, 1,598 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 26.3% 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 Russell Island in?
Russell Island sits within the federal Division of Bowman, currently held by Henry Pike (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
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2020–2024
- Air quality · 2025
- 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.