Lowood, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lowood is a rural town in the Somerset Region of south-east Queensland, on the Brisbane River about 66km west of Brisbane and 31km north of Ipswich. Its name comes from the 'low woods' of brigalow that once covered the area, shorter than the taller timber found elsewhere in the Brisbane Valley; earlier names for the place included The Scrub and Cairnhill. The town was established in 1872 and grew after 1884 as the first terminus of the Brisbane Valley branch railway. Today it draws hobby farmers and Brisbane commuters, with nearby Lake Wivenhoe popular for boating and fishing. During the Second World War a local airfield hosted an RAAF squadron, and after the war the Lowood circuit staged the 1960 Australian Grand Prix.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Lowood is more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 843, 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 Lowood 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 Lowood 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
4/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (4/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
48/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $295 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 48% 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.
Lowood at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,082
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,163
- SEIFA score
- 843
- Local government area
- Somerset
- Coordinates
- -27.4712, 152.5703
Map of Lowood
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Lowood
What it costs to live in Lowood and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $295
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,300
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 62%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 36%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Lowood demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Lowood demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lowood 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 26% and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 857 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 490 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 882 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,054 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 792 | 19% |
Share of the 4,075 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 449 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 453 | 31% |
| Rented | 521 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,382 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 76 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 7 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,471 occupied private dwellings in Lowood.
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,324
- Median weekly personal income
- $552
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 442 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 130 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 277 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,119 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.4%
- Employed full-time
- 793
- Employed part-time
- 433
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 Lowood
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lowood is January (average daytime high around 30.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.4°C). The area receives roughly 858 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.9°C | 20°C | 84 mm |
| Feb | 30.2°C | 19.9°C | 145 mm |
| Mar | 28.9°C | 19.3°C | 127 mm |
| Apr | 26.1°C | 15.7°C | 34 mm |
| May | 23.2°C | 12.6°C | 57 mm |
| Jun | 20.6°C | 10°C | 35 mm |
| Jul | 20.4°C | 8.9°C | 32 mm |
| Aug | 22.1°C | 9.4°C | 32 mm |
| Sep | 25.1°C | 12°C | 32 mm |
| Oct | 27.4°C | 14.8°C | 92 mm |
| Nov | 29.6°C | 17.1°C | 80 mm |
| Dec | 30.8°C | 19°C | 108 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Lowood
Is Lowood 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, Lowood rates 19/100 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 Lowood?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Lowood was $295, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Lowood?
Lowood is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Somerset local government area.
What is the population of Lowood?
At the 2021 Census, Lowood had a population of about 4,082.
Is Lowood an advantaged area?
Lowood has an ABS SEIFA score of 843, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 4 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lowood?
Lowood has average daytime highs of about 26.3°C and overnight lows of about 14.9°C, with roughly 858 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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