How we calculate the numbers

In Queensland we use the minimum general rate for a residential owner-occupied property (principal place of residence), taken from each council's published rates schedule. For Brisbane suburbs that is the Brisbane City Council minimum general rate. In New South Wales, where councils don't publish a single minimum, we use the average residential rate each council reports to the Office of Local Government (2024–25), uplifted by that council's IPART rate peg for 2026–27.

We use each water utility's published pricing to calculate a typical annual residential water and sewerage bill, assuming household consumption of approximately 190 kilolitres per year (the Brisbane average).

The bill includes: water service fixed charge, water usage charges (Tier 1), bulk water charge (passed through at cost from SEQWater), and sewerage service fixed charge.

Provider by area:

• Brisbane City and Ipswich: Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU)
• Moreton Bay: Unitywater
• Logan: Logan City Council
• Redland City: Redland City Council
• Greater Sydney, Illawarra and Blue Mountains: Sydney Water (typical annual bill, 2026–27)
• Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens: Hunter Water (2026–27)
• Other regional NSW councils: an estimate, labelled on the page as a regional NSW estimate

Your actual bill will vary based on household size, water usage habits, and meter size.

We measure each suburb's distance to the CBD, then cost the round-trip commute at the ATO's published rate for the 2026-27 financial year (91 cents/km), which covers fuel, tyres, registration, insurance and depreciation.

Commute frequency tapers with distance, because residents further from the CBD tend to work from home more often, or work locally rather than commute in:

• Close to the CBD: 4 return trips per week
• ~15km: about 3.25 return trips per week
• ~30km: about 2.5 return trips per week
• ~45km: about 1.75 return trips per week
• ~60km: about 1 return trip per week
• 70km and beyond: half a return trip per week (floor)

Annual driving cost = distance to the CBD × 2 (return) × return trips per week × 48 working weeks × $0.91/km. This is the CBD commute specifically, not total household driving. Suburbs beyond 100km, where a daily CBD commute is not realistic, use a flat regional allowance of $18,200 instead. That allowance represents general household driving of about 20,000km a year, so it is not derived from the per-kilometre taper above and is not expected to match it.

Which CBD the distance is measured to. For a suburb in or near a regional city, distance is measured to that city rather than to the state capital. In New South Wales those centres are Newcastle, Wollongong, Coffs Harbour, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Tamworth, Orange, Dubbo, Port Macquarie and Bathurst. In Queensland they are Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba, Mackay, Maroochydore, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Warwick and Gympie. So inner Newcastle is costed on the trip into Newcastle, not on the 118km to Sydney. Suburbs outside those catchments are measured to the state capital.

Minimum trip distance. The taper reaches zero where a suburb's centre point coincides with the city centre, which would price the commute at $0. A suburb covers an area and its workplaces are spread across it, so the cost is calculated on a minimum trip of 1.5km, or $514 a year. The distance shown on the page is always the measured one, not the minimum.

Queensland's Translink network charges a flat fare of 50 cents per trip regardless of distance or zone. That is one of the lowest public transport fares in Australia.

We calculate annual PT commute cost as:

$0.50 × 2 trips per day × 192 days per year = $192

The 192 days reflects an average of 4 commute days per week across 48 working weeks, accounting for leave, public holidays, and the reality that most workers now commute fewer than 5 days per week.

This figure is the same for every suburb in Brisbane, because Queensland public transport fares do not vary by distance under the current flat-fare system.

New South Wales: NSW uses Opal, where fares rise with distance and are capped daily and weekly. For Sydney-metro suburbs we apply the Opal adult fare for the suburb's distance band across 46 commuting weeks. Outside the Sydney network we show driving as the practical mode, since regional services are limited and are not modelled fare by fare.

Electricity is an estimate, not a bill. Annual usage comes from the Australian Energy Regulator's residential electricity benchmarks, which give typical consumption by household size for each climate zone. Each suburb is matched to its climate zone by postcode, and a unit is taken as using 75% of what a house uses.

That usage is priced at the 2026-27 regulated flat rate for the suburb's own electricity distribution network, including GST. In south-east Queensland (Energex) and across New South Wales (Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy) that is the Default Market Offer set by the Australian Energy Regulator. Regional Queensland (Ergon Energy) is outside the Default Market Offer, so it uses the Queensland Competition Authority's regulated Tariff 11 price, with GST added because that price is published without it.

The daily supply charge is included, and it is a large part of the bill: it is paid before any power is used. Networks are assigned by council, so a suburb near the boundary of two networks can be priced on its neighbour's. Sydney's two networks differ by roughly $100 a year at typical use.

The Default Market Offer is a ceiling rather than a typical price, and many retail plans cost less, so a household that compares offers will usually pay below this figure. Solar, batteries, controlled load hot water and gas are not modelled.

Home and contents insurance premiums are estimated using AI analysis (Claude, by Anthropic), calibrated against each suburb's flood risk classification, fire risk classification, cyclone exposure, distance from the CBD, and typical dwelling characteristics for that area.

Cyclone exposure is the largest single driver, and it is not shown on the suburb pages. Estimated house premiums average about $2,762 across South East Queensland and about $6,790 between Cairns and Townsville, on suburbs that often carry identical flood and fire ratings. If you are comparing a far north Queensland suburb with a southern one, the insurance line is doing most of the work.

The flood and fire ratings we display have three levels, which is coarser than the estimate behind them. Two suburbs can both read "high" flood and carry very different premiums, because severity within that band varies more than three levels can express. Read the rating as a direction and the dollar figure as indicative.

These are estimates only. Actual premiums vary significantly based on your specific property, chosen insurer, coverage level, claims history, and construction type.

The figures shown are a reasonable starting point for comparison purposes. Use the "Get an exact quote" link on each suburb page for a real premium from a licensed insurer.

For unit owners, building insurance is typically covered by the body corporate levy. We estimate contents insurance separately using AI analysis based on suburb location and property type.

These estimates cover a typical contents policy for a unit owner. Actual premiums vary by insurer, coverage level, and the value of your possessions.

Body corporate (strata) levies are estimated using AI analysis based on suburb characteristics and typical levy ranges for each property type.

Typical ranges used as calibration:

• Inner-city high-rise, post-2000: $4,500–$7,000/year
• Inner-city low-rise or older buildings: $2,500–$4,000/year
• Middle-ring apartments: $2,000–$3,500/year
• Outer suburb newer developments: $1,500–$2,500/year

Actual levies vary significantly based on your building's age, size, facilities, maintenance history, and management. Always confirm the actual levy with the body corporate secretary before purchasing.

School scores (displayed on a 1–10 scale) are derived from ACARA ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) data. We show the catchment school for each suburb, the state school your child would automatically enrol in based on your address.

The ICSEA score reflects the socio-educational advantage of the student community, not teaching quality directly. It is one useful indicator but does not capture teaching culture, specialist programs, or extracurricular activities.

Flood risk classifications (Low / Medium / High) in Queensland are derived from Queensland Globe flood mapping data and cross-referenced with Climate Council risk mapping.

New South Wales: NSW has no single statewide flood layer (councils hold their own mapping), so we model flood risk from a 30 m elevation model. Each suburb is scored on its low-lying ground and its height above the nearest drainage, then rated Low / Medium / High. This is a modelled indicator, labelled as modelled on every NSW page, not official flood mapping.

Classifications were updated in June 2026 using the Queensland Government's adopted February 2022 Brisbane River and Creek Flood awareness dataset (updated May 2025). Suburb boundaries from the ABS 2021 Statistical Area Level dataset were intersected with the 2022 flood polygons. Suburbs where more than 20% of the suburb area was inundated were classified High; suburbs with 5–20% coverage were classified Medium. This reclassified 93 suburbs across Greater Brisbane, including Bulimba, New Farm, Morningside, East Brisbane, Graceville, Chelmer, Boondall, and Fitzgibbon.

Classifications represent the general flood risk profile for the suburb. Individual properties within a suburb may have different risk profiles depending on their specific location and elevation. Always check your specific property's flood designation before purchasing.

Fire risk classifications in Queensland are derived from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) bushfire prone land mapping. In New South Wales we use the NSW Rural Fire Service Bush Fire Prone Land layer, rating each suburb by the share of its area that is high-hazard (Category 1) vegetation.

As with flood risk, suburb-level classifications are a general guide. Always check your specific property's designation before purchasing.