Burleigh Heads, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Burleigh Heads is a coastal suburb on the southern Gold Coast, about 13 km south of Surfers Paradise in the City of Gold Coast. It is best known for its north-facing surf beach and the world-class point break that wraps around the headland, which draws professional surfing events. The rocky cape itself is protected as Burleigh Head National Park, a pocket of eucalypt forest and rainforest above the sea, while the James Street precinct behind the beach has become one of the coast's busiest dining strips. The headland was named 'Burly Head' by a surveyor in 1840, later spelt Burleigh. Indigenous Australians lived in the area for thousands of years before European settlement.
More advantaged than the national average
Burleigh Heads is more socio-economically advantaged than about 79% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1040, 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 Burleigh Heads 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Burleigh Heads 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
79/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (79/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
7/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $480 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 7% 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.
Burleigh Heads at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 10,572
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,701
- SEIFA score
- 1040
- Local government area
- Gold Coast
- Coordinates
- -28.1108, 153.4322
Map of Burleigh Heads
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Burleigh Heads
What it costs to live in Burleigh Heads and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $480
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,058
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 63%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 34%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Burleigh Heads demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Burleigh Heads demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Burleigh Heads 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 young adults (25–44) at 30% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,380 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,034 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,213 | 30% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,639 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,306 | 22% |
Share of the 10,572 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,435 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,250 | 29% |
| Rented | 1,424 | 34% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,657 | 39% |
| Townhouses & semis | 587 | 14% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,982 | 47% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,257 occupied private dwellings in Burleigh Heads.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,164
- Median weekly personal income
- $889
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,258 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 767 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 201 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 5,383 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6%
- Employed full-time
- 2,883
- Employed part-time
- 1,941
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.
Weather and climate in Burleigh Heads
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Burleigh Heads is January (average daytime high around 27.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.2°C). The area receives roughly 1098 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.4°C | 21.9°C | 108 mm |
| Feb | 27.3°C | 21.8°C | 182 mm |
| Mar | 26.7°C | 21.2°C | 171 mm |
| Apr | 24.6°C | 18.7°C | 64 mm |
| May | 22.5°C | 16.1°C | 88 mm |
| Jun | 20.5°C | 13.9°C | 66 mm |
| Jul | 20.2°C | 12.7°C | 49 mm |
| Aug | 21.3°C | 13.3°C | 49 mm |
| Sep | 22.9°C | 15.1°C | 43 mm |
| Oct | 24.3°C | 17.4°C | 89 mm |
| Nov | 25.8°C | 19.1°C | 70 mm |
| Dec | 27°C | 20.8°C | 119 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Share your local knowledge of Burleigh Heads
Lived here or spent time in Burleigh Heads? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Burleigh Heads
Is Burleigh Heads 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, Burleigh Heads rates 55/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Burleigh Heads?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Burleigh Heads was $480, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,058. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Burleigh Heads?
Burleigh Heads is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Gold Coast local government area.
What is the population of Burleigh Heads?
At the 2021 Census, Burleigh Heads had a population of about 10,572.
Is Burleigh Heads an advantaged area?
Burleigh Heads has an ABS SEIFA score of 1040, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 79 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 79% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Burleigh Heads?
Burleigh Heads has average daytime highs of about 24.2°C and overnight lows of about 17.7°C, with roughly 1,098 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.