Southport (Qld), QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Southport is the most populous suburb of the Gold Coast and home to the city's central business district, set where the Nerang River empties into The Broadwater at the southern end of Moreton Bay. First known as Nerang Creek Heads, it was renamed Southport as the southernmost port of colonial Queensland, surveyed in the 1870s as a timber port shipping logs north to Brisbane. Its fortunes turned in the 1880s when the Queensland Governor, Sir Anthony Musgrave, chose it for his summer residence — the 'Summer Place' — sealing the township's reputation as the colony's pre-eminent seaside resort, soon served by a pier and a railway. Long associated with grand schools such as The Southport School and St Hilda's, Southport is today the Gold Coast's civic heart, with the G:link tram, the Broadwater Parklands, and a riverside university-and-hospital precinct.
Less advantaged than the national average
Southport (Qld) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 39% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 968, 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 Southport (Qld) 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 5 components we can score for Southport (Qld) 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
39/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (39/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
16/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $410 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 16% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
80/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 110 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Green space
78/100A good amount of green space nearby
About 16.7% of the area within ~1.2 km of the centre is mapped as green space — parks, reserves, sportsgrounds and the like. An area estimate from a radius around the centre, not the suburb boundary. · OpenStreetMap
Transport
90/100Well served by public-transport stops
About 44 public-transport stops (bus, train, tram or ferry) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. Stop coverage, not timetable frequency. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- 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.
Southport (Qld) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 36,786
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,268
- SEIFA score
- 968
- Local government area
- Gold Coast
- Coordinates
- -27.9751, 153.3987
Map of Southport (Qld)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Southport (Qld)
What it costs to live in Southport (Qld) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $410
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,647
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 38%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 58%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Southport (Qld) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Southport (Qld) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Southport (Qld) 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 31% and 41% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,196 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 5,996 | 16% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 11,403 | 31% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 8,097 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 7,099 | 19% |
Share of the 36,791 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,154 | 20% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,766 | 18% |
| Rented | 8,948 | 58% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,684 | 24% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3,238 | 21% |
| Flats & apartments | 8,437 | 55% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 15,460 occupied private dwellings in Southport (Qld).
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,569
- Median weekly personal income
- $666
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 13,995 (41%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 9,059 (27%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 799 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 19,696 (62%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.8%
- Employed full-time
- 8,391
- Employed part-time
- 6,702
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 Southport (Qld)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Southport (Qld) 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).
Places in and around Southport (Qld)
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
10 nearbyDougs · Coffee Galleria · KFC · Tweed Street Corner · FARINA & Co · Madocke Beer Brewing Co
Parks & recreation
85 nearbyAxis Jiu-Jitsu Academy · Inverted Aerials · Ward Park · Loders Creek Butterfly and Senses Garden · Harvest Park · Lilli Pilli Park
Shops & groceries
2 nearbyQuickStop · IGA Queen Street Village
Healthcare
7 nearbyPrimary Medical Centre · Brickworks Medical Clinic · Primary Dental Centre · Dental on Falconer · Dr. Erlich Sem
Schools & education
5 nearbySouthport State School · Keebra Park State High School · The Southport School · St Hilda's School
Things to do
1 nearbyRadha Krishna Cultural Centre
Eat & drink in and around Southport (Qld)
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- Coffee GalleriaCafécoffeegalleria.com.au
- DougsBar64 Alicia Street, Southport
- FARINA & CoCafé
- Guzman y GomezTakeaway131 Queen Street, Southport
- KFCTakeaway41 Ferry Road, Southportkfc.com.au
- Madocke Beer Brewing CoPub286 Southport-Nerang Road
- Olympic Circuit CafeCafé7 Olympic Circuit, Southportolympiccircuitcafe.com
- OportoTakeaway133 Queen Street, Southport
- The Queen's Arm HotelPub133 Queen Streettheqa.com.au
- Tweed Street CornerTakeaway2 Tweed Streettweed-street-corner.business.site
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
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Common questions about Southport (Qld)
Is Southport (Qld) a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability, amenities, green space and transport, Southport (Qld) rates 57/100 overall (Around the national middle). Schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Southport (Qld)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Southport (Qld) was $410, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,647. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Southport (Qld)?
Southport (Qld) is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Gold Coast local government area.
What is the population of Southport (Qld)?
At the 2021 Census, Southport (Qld) had a population of about 36,786.
Is Southport (Qld) an advantaged area?
Southport (Qld) has an ABS SEIFA score of 968, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 39 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 39% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Southport (Qld)?
Southport (Qld) 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).
How big is Southport (Qld)?
Southport (Qld) is the most populous suburb in Queensland at the 2021 Census (about 36,786 usual residents).
Where Southport (Qld) ranks
Southport (Qld) appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Queensland#1 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#22 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.