Median price trend for houses
Based on 10 sales in the preceding 12 months
$445,000
Down 6.3% over 12 months
- 2 bed
- $500k
Aerial view
Imagery © Esri
The quick read on
Cow Bay
QLD 4873 · Douglas
What homes cost, how rents have moved, and a feel for the people who call it home.
- Median house
- $445,000
- Population
- 220
- Postcode
- 4873
latest suburb median
ABS 2021
Cow Bay, Queensland
Property market insights for Cow Bay
Median sale price and rental income of properties in Cow Bay QLD
Market data updated October 2026.
The median house price in Cow Bay, QLD is currently $445,000, based on the latest 12 months of sales. Cow Bay has a 12-month growth rate of -6.3% for houses.
Two-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $500,000 in Cow Bay.
Crime and safety
Is Cow Bay safe?
The overall rate for Cow Bay is 1,891 offences per 100,000 residents — 23% below the Rest of Qld benchmark.
That is the clearest suburb-wide answer. Open the detailed profile to see how the pattern changes across offence types and different parts of Cow Bay.
Overall crime rate
1,891
offences per 100,000 residents
23% belowRest of Qld
Cow BayRest of Qld: 2,462
Suburb-wide estimate from Microburbs' public crime model; it is not an address-level measure.
The people behind the postcode
Who lives in Cow Bay?
Cow Bay QLD 4873 is in Queensland, within Rest of Qld.
220 people call Cow Bay home, with an average of 1.7 people per household and a median household income of $752 a week.
Public ABS 2021 Census figures. The bars compare the local share with the capital-region benchmark.
- Population
- 220
- Median age
- 52 years
- Median mortgage
- $867 / month
- 2021 household rent
- $200 / week
Above the benchmarkBelow the benchmarkIn lineRest of Qld benchmark
Age profile
Share of residents in each age band.
Under 156.4%Below
15–3413.2%Below
35–5435.0%Above
55–7440.0%Above
75 and over4.5%Below
Homes
Share of occupied private dwellings.
Separate houses101.0%Above
Townhouses0.0%Below
Apartments0.0%Below
Ownership
Share of homes with a stated ownership or rental status.
Owned outright65.6%Above
Paying a mortgage24.7%Below
Renting9.7%Below
Cars at home
Vehicles available to occupied households.
No car3.1%Below
One car52.1%Above
Two cars35.4%Below
Three or more8.3%Below
Getting to work
Selected ways residents worked or travelled on Census day.
Worked from home12.8%Above
Drove to work52.3%Below
Train, tram or bus0.0%Below
Walked or cycled0.0%Below
What stands out in Cow Bay
12.8% of workers in Cow Bay worked from home on Census day.
5.0% of Cow Bay residents were born in England.
55.5% of people in Cow Bay described themselves as having no religion in the 2021 Census.
A closer look at the Census
Questions people ask about Cow Bay
Open any question for a plain-English reading of the public 2021 Census for Cow Bay QLD 4873.
Is Cow Bay family-friendly?Age, family structure and household size describe the community families would be joining.
6.4% of Cow Bay's residents were children under 15 in the 2021 Census. That is about half the Rest of Qld rate.
43 family households lived in Cow Bay; 20.9% were couple families and 20.9% were one-parent families.
30.2% of local families included children under 15. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
These are suburb-wide household figures, not school or childcare ratings.
What is the age profile of Cow Bay?The balance between younger adults, families and older residents changes how a suburb feels day to day.
Cow Bay had 220 residents at the 2021 Census.
19.5% of residents were aged 25 to 44.
44.5% were 55 or older. That is well above the Rest of Qld average.
Age shares use the suburb’s total Census population.
What kind of homes are in Cow Bay?The dwelling mix shows whether the suburb is mostly detached homes, townhouses or apartments.
Separate houses made up 101.0% of occupied private dwellings in Cow Bay.
Townhouses and other attached homes represented 0.0% of occupied private dwellings.
Flats and apartments accounted for 0.0% of occupied private dwellings.
All three shares use occupied private dwellings as the denominator.
Do people own or rent in Cow Bay?Tenure shows how many households own outright, have a mortgage or rent.
65.6% of households with a stated tenure owned their home outright. That is about twice the Rest of Qld rate.
24.7% were buying their home with a mortgage.
9.7% rented their home. That is about half the Rest of Qld rate.
Tenure shares include households that stated one of these three arrangements.
How large are households in Cow Bay?Household-size data shows the mix behind the suburb-wide average.
The average household in Cow Bay had 1.7 people.
One-person households made up 54.0% of occupied homes. That is about twice the Rest of Qld rate.
Two-person households represented 34.0%, while 6.0% had four or more usual residents.
Household size counts usual residents in occupied homes.
How do people get to work in Cow Bay?Census-day travel shows the balance between home, road, public transport and active travel.
12.8% of workers worked from home on Census day. That is close to the Rest of Qld average.
52.3% drove a car as their only travel method. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
0.0% used only a train, tram or bus, while 0.0% walked or cycled.
Travel figures are a 2021 Census-day snapshot.
How many cars do households have in Cow Bay?Vehicle availability helps describe the routines local households can support.
3.1% of occupied households had no motor vehicle available. That is close to the Rest of Qld average.
One-car households formed 52.1% of the total.
43.8% of households had two or more vehicles.
Vehicle counts refer to occupied households, not individual residents.
Who's moving to Cow Bay, and who stays?Address history shows how settled or recently mobile residents were at the Census date.
58.6% were at the same address five years earlier, while 41.4% reported a different address.
14.5% of residents were born outside Australia. That is somewhat below the Rest of Qld average.
Mobility figures cover residents who answered the relevant Census question.
What languages are spoken in Cow Bay?Language at home gives a direct view of the community’s everyday linguistic mix.
78.2% of residents used only English at home.
4.1% used a language other than English at home.
0.0% spoke Mandarin at home, 0.0% spoke Cantonese and 0.0% spoke Hindi.
Home language is separate from English proficiency.
Where were Cow Bay residents born?Birthplace adds another layer to the local story, separate from ancestry and language.
14.5% of Cow Bay's population was born outside Australia, while roughly 85.5% was born in Australia.
0.0% of residents were born in China.
0.0% were born in India, while Australian citizenship across the whole suburb stood at 80.0%.
Birthplace, citizenship and ancestry describe different parts of identity.
What ancestries shape Cow Bay?Ancestry responses show how residents describe family and cultural background.
English ancestry accounted for 37.7% of ancestry responses in Cow Bay.
Australian ancestry made up 29.5% of responses.
Chinese ancestry represented 2.3% of responses.
People may nominate more than one ancestry, so these are shares of responses.
What work do people do in Cow Bay?Occupation describes a person’s role; industry describes the sector employing them.
14.0% of employed residents worked in professional occupations. That is somewhat below the Rest of Qld average.
Managers accounted for 9.3% of employed residents, while clerical and administrative workers made up 7.0%.
Health care and social assistance employed 11.6% of workers, and education and training employed 0.0%.
Occupation and industry figures describe employed residents of the suburb.
How active is the workforce in Cow Bay?Participation, employment pattern and unemployment describe the resident labour force.
The labour-force participation rate was 48.3%, compared with 59.1% across Rest of Qld.
12.3% of residents aged 15 and over worked full time, while 25.1% worked part time.
Unemployment was 14.1%, compared with 5.2% across Rest of Qld.
Labour-force figures come from the 2021 Census.
What does the health profile of Cow Bay show?Selected long-term health conditions help describe community service needs.
54.1% reported no selected long-term health condition.
8.6% reported a long-term mental health condition, including depression or anxiety.
2.3% reported asthma, 10.9% arthritis and 3.2% diabetes excluding gestational diabetes.
These are self-reported suburb-wide Census figures, not address-level health risks.
How educated is Cow Bay?Qualifications describe the study pathways represented among local residents.
12.5% of people in the qualifications table held a bachelor degree. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
Postgraduate degrees accounted for 3.7% of qualification responses.
Diploma-level qualifications represented 8.8%, while certificate-level qualifications represented 36.0%.
Qualification categories are reported separately and are not school ratings.
What do incomes and housing costs look like in Cow Bay?Census income and household payments give historical context for local living costs.
Median household income was $752 per week in the 2021 Census.
The median monthly mortgage repayment reported by local households was $867.
Occupied renting households reported a median rent of $200 per week.
These household figures are from 2021; current sale and asking-rent medians appear in the market section.
How does Cow Bay compare with Rest of Qld?A few clear differences place the suburb in its wider metropolitan context.
Working from home was 12.8% in Cow Bay, compared with 10.6% across Rest of Qld.
Outright ownership was 65.6% locally and 33.4% across Rest of Qld. That is about twice the Rest of Qld rate.
Renting accounted for 9.7% in Cow Bay, against 32.4% across Rest of Qld.
Capital-region comparisons use the same Census definitions and year.
Three useful questions
A buyer’s quick guide to Cow Bay
Is Cow Bay expensive?
The median house price is $445,000. Bedroom count, land and condition still create a wide range around those suburb medians.
Is Cow Bay good for families?
The Census counted 43 local families, and 6.4% of residents were under 15. That describes the community; school quality, travel times and the right fit for a particular family need separate research.
What can I get for $1.5m in Cow Bay?
2-bedroom houses have a median around $500,000, the closest bedroom benchmark we hold to a $1.5m budget. Individual homes can differ substantially with block size, renovation and location.
Medians describe recorded market activity across the suburb; they are historical context, not a valuation or forecast for an individual home.
Explore the area
Streets and suburbs around Cow Bay
23 streets in Cow Bay
Street-by-street reports are not published yet. The streets below are the ones this suburb covers.
- Black Bean Rd
- Bloodwood Rd
- Buchanan Creek Rd
- Cape Tribulation Rd
- Cedar Rd
- Cypress Rd
- Fig Tree Rd
- Hickory Rd
- Kauri Cl
- Maple Rd
- Pandanus Rd
- Penda Cl
- Quandong Rd
- Red Gum Rd
- Rosewood Rd
- Silkwood Rd
- Silky Oak Rd
- Silver Ash Rd
Show all 23 streetsShow fewer streets
- Spurwood Rd
- Teak Rd
- Tulip Oak Rd
- Wattle Cl
- White Beech Rd
12 suburbs surrounding Cow Bay
Compare nearby suburb prices, rents and five-year market trends.
Keep exploring
Is Cow Bay right for your search?
Use the finders to compare places and properties, or open the full report when you need the street, risk, schools and growth research.
Read the thinking
Figures update as new market and census data arrives. This suburb overview is general information, not a valuation or financial advice.