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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Browns Plains is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Brisbane, Australia, with a population of approximately 6,632, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 22 km from the Brisbane CBD, Browns Plains is a middle ring area in Queensland. The median household income is $72,280 per year.
Browns Plains has a solid income profile that supports reliable occupancy rates.
Official Australia Post postcode for Browns Plains. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 2 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Browns Plains on My School →Estimated 3 parks and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Browns Plains's population of 6,632 sits 21% above the Queensland suburb median of 5,474, giving it a wider tenant and buyer catchment than the average QLD locality. Household income of $72,280/year is 20% below the Queensland median of $90,298, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median weekly rent of $350 equates to $1,517/month — about 106% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,434/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. 22 km from Brisbane places Browns Plains in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 25% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Browns Plains stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Browns Plains sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Browns Plains | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,632 | 5,474 | +21% |
| Median household income | $72,280/yr | $90,298/yr | -20% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $350 | $385 | -9% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,434 | $1,733 | -17% |
| Distance to CBD | 22 km | 62 km | -65% |
| Separate houses | 74% | 77% | -3pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Browns Plains — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Browns Plains's 6,632-person market and $72,280 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage: $350/week (~$1,517/month) covers 106% of the $1,434/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 74% houses in a 6,632-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Browns Plains property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Browns Plains are modest for 2026 — incomes 20% below the QLD median of $90,298 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~106% of the typical mortgage ($1,517/month rent vs $1,434/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 59/100 places Browns Plains in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Browns Plains scores 59/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 6,632, median household income of $72,280/year and median weekly rent of $350. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Browns Plains are proximity to Brisbane (22 km), a median household income of $72,280/year, a dwelling mix that is 74% separate houses, roughly 2 schools and 3 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Browns Plains has a usual resident population of approximately 6,632, compared with a Queensland suburb median of 5,474 — placing it in the upper half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Browns Plains sits 22 km straight-line from the Brisbane CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $350 in Browns Plains, equating to approximately $18,200/year in gross rental income (state median $385/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Browns Plains is $1,434, or approximately $17,208/year (vs $1,733/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $350 works out to $1,517/month, covering 106% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,434/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $83/month, so on these numbers Browns Plains leans cash-flow-positive before accounting for strata, council rates, insurance and maintenance. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,434 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($72,280 vs $90,298 state median), the broader Queensland market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.