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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Cow Bay is a coastal suburb in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 220, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 1475 km from the Brisbane CBD, Cow Bay is a coastal area in Queensland. The median household income is $39,104 per year.
Household earnings in Cow Bay are below the state average, which may affect long-term capital growth. The coastal setting provides a lifestyle factor that underpins property values.
Official Australia Post postcode for Cow Bay. 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 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Cow Bay on My School →Estimated 1 park 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.
Cow Bay is a smaller community of 220 — about 4% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Cow Bay's median household income of $39,104/year is 57% below the Queensland suburb median ($90,298) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median weekly rent of $200 equates to $867/month — about 100% of the median mortgage repayment of $867/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Cow Bay is 1475 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 62% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 77% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.
How Cow Bay stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Cow Bay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Cow Bay | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 220 | 5,474 | -96% |
| Median household income | $39,104/yr | $90,298/yr | -57% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $200 | $385 | -48% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $867 | $1,733 | -50% |
| Distance to CBD | 1475 km | 62 km | +2279% |
| Separate houses | 62% | 77% | -15pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Cow Bay — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 220 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $200/week (~$867/month) covers 100% of the $867/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 62% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 77% QLD median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Cow Bay property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Cow Bay are modest for 2026 — incomes 57% below the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 220 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~100% of the typical mortgage ($867/month rent vs $867/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 29/100 places Cow Bay in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Cow Bay scores 29/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 220, median household income of $39,104/year and median weekly rent of $200. 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 Cow Bay are a median household income of $39,104/year, a dwelling mix that is 62% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 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.
Cow Bay has a usual resident population of approximately 220, compared with a Queensland suburb median of 5,474 — placing it in the lower 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.
Cow Bay sits 1475 km straight-line from the Brisbane CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $200 in Cow Bay, equating to approximately $10,400/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 Cow Bay is $867, or approximately $10,404/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 $200 works out to $867/month, covering 100% of the median mortgage repayment of $867/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $-0/month, so on these numbers Cow Bay 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 a thin buyer pool (220 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $867 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($39,104 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.