QLD · Townsville Council
Nelly Bay, 4819
Current weather
22.3°CMainly clear
81% humidity · 23.7 km/h wind · 22.4° / 20.5° today · 0 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- National parks
- Cycling
- High desirability
- Green suburb
Suburb profile
Nelly Bay is a regional centre in Townsville that balances local services with a more relaxed pace of life. Out in the wider region, it rewards those who value open country and a pace set by the land, not the clock. A mature community gives the area a calm, settled social fabric, with multiple generations sharing the same neighbourhood.
There are enough cafés and casual dining options to keep weekends interesting. Housing is well-priced for what you get: space, location and everyday convenience.
Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
The desirability score is around average, weighed down by weaker housing affordability and parks and green space against similar regional towns, even with safety and transport and access holding up better.
Population
- Population
- 1,213
- Median age
- 56
- Median household income / week
- $1,003
- Dwelling vacancy
- 22.2%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 138 of 622
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,470
- Employment rate
- 45.5%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 49 / 33 / 46
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 33
- Against the person
- 5
- Against property
- 21
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 27.2
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 243 residents
- State safety percentile
- 24.2th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
- -15.6%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Fraud8
- Other Property Damage8
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)13
- Traffic And Related Offences8
- Unlawful Entry11
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 1,027
- Magnetic Island State SchoolPrimary
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Roadworks & transport
1 active roadworks / incidents
- RoadworksThe Esplanade, n/a30 Dec 2024 – 30 Sep 2026
Data sources & freshness
- Road incidents & closures — State road authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · Hourly refresh where supported
Amenities
88 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- BottlemartAlcohol
- ATM (4)
- Bank
- Free BBQBbq
- Bench (5)
- Bicycle Parking
- Elena St at Mandalay AvenueBus stop
- Elena St at Wheaton CourtBus stop
- Kelly St at Warboys StreetBus stop
- Kinetic GroupBus stop
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
2 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Nelly Bay Habitat ReserveNature reserve
- Park or reserveNature reserve
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 2
- Emergency department
- Not in suburb
- Hospital Clinicclinic
- Latitude 19 Healthdoctor
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 4/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 4/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 1
- Parks (OSM)
- 1
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 45.4/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 40% of Queensland's suburbs
- National rank
- 2560th in Australia
- State rank
- 596th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #74 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #243 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 71%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- ATMamenitiesatm
- ATMamenitiesatm
- ATMamenitiesatm
- ATMamenitiesatm
- Australia Postamenitiespost_office
- Bankamenitiesbank
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Townsville Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.