Bowen, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bowen is a coastal town in north Queensland, set on a peninsula with the sea on three sides about halfway between Townsville and Mackay, within the Whitsunday region. The district has long been associated with the Biri and Juru Aboriginal language groups. Established in 1861 as Port Denison, it was soon renamed after Sir George Bowen, Queensland's first governor. The town is best known for its mangoes, celebrated by the roadside Big Mango sculpture, and for its eight sheltered beaches. In 2007 Bowen stood in for wartime Darwin during the filming of Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia. Horticulture, beef, fishing and tourism drive the local economy, alongside coal shipped through the nearby port at Abbot Point.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Bowen is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 897, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Bowen a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Bowen from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
11/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (11/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
55/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $270 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 55% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Bowen at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,205
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,343
- SEIFA score
- 897
- Local government area
- Whitsunday
- Coordinates
- -20.1323, 148.1575
Map of Bowen
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Bowen
What it costs to live in Bowen and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $270
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 58%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 38%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Bowen demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Bowen demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bowen using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 27% and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,041 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,129 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,727 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,033 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,284 | 20% |
Share of the 11,214 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,341 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,008 | 25% |
| Rented | 1,518 | 38% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,368 | 83% |
| Townhouses & semis | 531 | 13% |
| Flats & apartments | 14 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,049 occupied private dwellings in Bowen.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,780
- Median weekly personal income
- $710
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,620 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 892 (9%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,188 (11%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,298 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.8%
- Employed full-time
- 3,105
- Employed part-time
- 1,447
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
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Common questions about Bowen
Is Bowen a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Bowen rates 26/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Bowen?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Bowen was $270, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Bowen?
Bowen is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Whitsunday local government area.
What is the population of Bowen?
At the 2021 Census, Bowen had a population of about 11,205.
Is Bowen an advantaged area?
Bowen has an ABS SEIFA score of 897, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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