QLD · Townsville Council
Rowes Bay, 4810
Current weather
22.5°CClear sky
86% humidity · 21.6 km/h wind · 22.6° / 20.9° today · 0 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Coastal
- High desirability
- Green suburb
Suburb profile
Life in Rowes Bay revolves around the coast, with the feel of a smaller community that never strays far from the water. Set in the wider countryside, it offers distance from the capital and a strong sense of place. Sea breezes and coastal air are part of everyday life, especially on warmer evenings.
Retirees and empty-nesters are well represented here. Weekends tend to revolve around local favourites: a café, a market run, a walk through town. Housing is well-priced for what you get: space, location and everyday convenience.
The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
The desirability score is below average, pulled down chiefly by weaker local dining and lifestyle amenities and schools and education relative to similar coastal suburbs. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 541
- Median age
- 69
- Median household income / week
- $853
- Dwelling vacancy
- 14%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 37 of 264
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,875
- Employment rate
- 29.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 16 / 137 / 6
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)
- 86
- Against the person
- 29
- Against property
- 29
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 159
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 19 residents
- State safety percentile
- 95.8th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +1.5%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Assault489
- Drug Offences683
- Good Order Offences630
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)445
- Unlawful Entry312
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
- 720
- Cleveland Education and Training CentreSpecial
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
Amenities
4 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Drinking water
- Picnic Table
- Shelter
- Waste Disposal
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
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 8/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 6/10
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
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 24.0/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6179th in Australia
- State rank
- 1432nd in QLD
- Peer rank
- #59 among Coastal & beach · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #117 among Coastal & beach suburbs
- Data confidence
- 56%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Drinking wateramenitiesdrinking_water
- Picnic Tableamenitiespicnic_table
- Shelteramenitiesshelter
- Waste Disposalamenitieswaste_disposal
- Assaultcrime489
- Drug Offencescrime683
- Good Order Offencescrime630
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)crime445
- Unlawful Entrycrime312
- Cleveland Education and Training CentreschoolsSpecial
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
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.