Hawthorne, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Hawthorne is a leafy riverside suburb on the eastern reach of the Brisbane River, about six and a half kilometres by road from the city centre. Two stories explain its name: that the butcher William Baynes called it after Hawthorn in Melbourne, where he had lived, or that he planted hedges of hawthorn here in the mid-nineteenth century. It began as farmland in the 1860s and was gradually carved into housing estates as ferry and tram services drew Brisbane outward. Overlooking the river stands Lourdes Hill College, a girls school opened by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan in 1916. The suburb is perhaps best loved for the Hawthorne Cinema, a picture theatre dating from the 1940s whose sweeping curved screen is among the largest in the city.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Hawthorne is more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1141, 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.
Hawthorne at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,090
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $3,029
- SEIFA score
- 1141
- Coordinates
- -27.4644, 153.0596
Hawthorne demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Hawthorne 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 29%, 36% of homes are rented, and 22% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,007 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 689 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,479 | 29% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,477 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 426 | 8% |
Share of the 5,078 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 465 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 713 | 37% |
| Rented | 694 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,172 | 62% |
| Townhouses & semis | 223 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 498 | 26% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,893 occupied private dwellings in Hawthorne.
- Median weekly rent
- $430
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,809
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,989
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,369
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,115 (22%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 455 (9%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 62 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,207 (83%)
- Labour-force participation
- 76.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.3%
- Employed full-time
- 1,926
- Employed part-time
- 840
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 Hawthorne
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Hawthorne is January (average daytime high around 29.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.7°C). The area receives roughly 945 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.4°C | 20.7°C | 111 mm |
| Feb | 29.2°C | 20.6°C | 154 mm |
| Mar | 28.2°C | 19.9°C | 133 mm |
| Apr | 25.7°C | 16.6°C | 45 mm |
| May | 23.1°C | 13.7°C | 71 mm |
| Jun | 20.8°C | 11.3°C | 40 mm |
| Jul | 20.7°C | 10.1°C | 35 mm |
| Aug | 22.2°C | 10.8°C | 37 mm |
| Sep | 24.5°C | 13°C | 44 mm |
| Oct | 26.3°C | 15.7°C | 97 mm |
| Nov | 28.2°C | 17.8°C | 75 mm |
| Dec | 29.2°C | 19.7°C | 103 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Hawthorne
Where is Hawthorne?
Hawthorne is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Hawthorne?
At the 2021 Census, Hawthorne had a population of about 5,090.
Is Hawthorne an advantaged area?
Hawthorne has an ABS SEIFA score of 1141, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 98 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Hawthorne?
Hawthorne has average daytime highs of about 25.6°C and overnight lows of about 15.8°C, with roughly 945 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Does Hawthorne have high household incomes?
Hawthorne has one of the highest median weekly household incomes in Queensland — the 16th-highest among suburbs with at least 1,000 residents at the 2021 Census ($3,029 per week).
Where Hawthorne ranks
Hawthorne appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.