Moving to Brisbane 2026, running costs by suburb
What a house in Greater Brisbane costs to run each year, suburb by suburb, and how it sets against Greater Sydney on the bills that mean the same thing in both cities.
Across the 443 suburbs of the five Greater Brisbane councils, the median house costs $10,958 (includes estimates) a year to run on council rates, water, a modelled driving commute and estimated building insurance. Set beside Greater Sydney on the bills that can honestly be compared, Brisbane is $912 a year dearer if you drive and $1,456 cheaper if you take public transport. Council rates are left out of that comparison, because Queensland publishes a minimum rate and New South Wales an average.
Key statistics
- Suburbs analysed
- 443
- Median, driving
- $10,958 (includes estimates)
- Median, public transport
- $5,540 (includes estimates)
- Against Sydney, driving
- $912 dearer
- Against Sydney, transport
- $1,456 cheaper
- Cheapest suburb to run
- $5,209 (includes estimates)
The short answer
The assumption behind most moves north is that Brisbane is simply cheaper. On running costs, that holds only if you change how you travel. We add up three bills for every suburb, water, a modelled commute and building insurance, and take the median across each city. By car, the median Greater Sydney suburb comes to $8,719 a year and the median Greater Brisbane suburb $9,631. Brisbane is $912 higher.
Switch both to public transport and the order flips: $5,798 in Sydney against $4,342 in Brisbane, $1,456 in Brisbane’s favour. Brisbane’s flat 50 cent fare does most of that work.
Council rates are excluded from both comparisons. Queensland publishes a minimum general rate for an owner-occupied home, a floor most owners exceed, while New South Wales publishes an average. Setting a floor against an average produces a figure that describes neither place, so this page never does it. Within Brisbane, where every suburb sits on the same basis, rates are included and the tables say so.
Electricity is left out of these totals too, because it depends on household size and tariff rather than suburb alone. Our Brisbane vs Sydney comparison adds a 2-person electricity estimate as a fourth bill. Brisbane’s power is cheaper, so on that basis the driving gap narrows to $491. Both studies use the same suburbs and the same data; they differ only in that one bill.
The ten cheapest Greater Brisbane suburbs to run
House, driving, 2026-27. Council rates included, because every suburb here is on one rating basis.
| Suburb | To CBD | Rates | Water | Commute | Insurance | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hill | 3km | $950 | $1,900 | $1,009 | $1,350 (AI estimate) | $5,209 |
| Paddington | 2.9km | $950 | $1,900 | $976 | $1,450 (AI estimate) | $5,276 |
| Brisbane City | 0.1km | $950 | $1,900 | $514 | $2,050 (AI estimate) | $5,414 |
| Spring Hill | 1.2km | $950 | $1,900 | $514 | $2,050 (AI estimate) | $5,414 |
| Kangaroo Point | 1.4km | $950 | $1,900 | $514 | $2,150 (AI estimate) | $5,514 |
| Petrie Terrace | 1.4km | $950 | $1,900 | $514 | $2,150 (AI estimate) | $5,514 |
| South Brisbane | 1.1km | $950 | $1,900 | $514 | $2,150 (AI estimate) | $5,514 |
| Fortitude Valley | 1.8km | $950 | $1,900 | $615 | $2,050 (AI estimate) | $5,515 |
| Highgate Hill | 2.1km | $950 | $1,900 | $715 | $2,050 (AI estimate) | $5,615 |
| Milton | 2km | $950 | $1,900 | $681 | $2,150 (AI estimate) | $5,681 |
See what your own shortlist costs to run, with the ten-year total and the risk profile →
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The ten dearest Greater Brisbane suburbs to run
| Suburb | To CBD | Rates | Water | Commute | Insurance | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipswich | 31.2km | $1,298 | $1,900 | $6,650 | $3,700 (AI estimate) | $13,548 |
| North Ipswich | 29.5km | $1,298 | $1,900 | $6,508 | $3,700 (AI estimate) | $13,406 |
| Wolffdene | 37.6km | $1,699 | $2,149 | $6,964 | $2,400 (AI estimate) | $13,212 |
| Monarch Glen | 39.7km | $1,699 | $2,149 | $6,988 | $2,300 (AI estimate) | $13,136 |
| Jimboomba | 40.6km | $1,699 | $2,149 | $6,987 | $2,300 (AI estimate) | $13,135 |
| Caboolture | 45.5km | $1,309 | $2,144 | $6,857 | $2,800 (AI estimate) | $13,110 |
| Cedar Grove | 43.6km | $1,699 | $2,149 | $6,933 | $2,300 (AI estimate) | $13,081 |
| South Maclean | 36.3km | $1,699 | $2,149 | $6,929 | $2,300 (AI estimate) | $13,077 |
| Dayboro | 35.8km | $1,309 | $2,144 | $6,912 | $2,700 (AI estimate) | $13,065 |
| Cedar Vale | 45.7km | $1,699 | $2,149 | $6,847 | $2,350 (AI estimate) | $13,045 |
The gap between the cheapest and dearest suburb is $8,339 a year, and almost all of it is commute and insurance rather than rates.
What it costs by distance from the CBD
| Distance to CBD | Suburbs | Median total | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5km | 37 | $6,112 | $5,209 to $7,609 |
| 5 to 10km | 55 | $7,304 | $6,138 to $9,314 |
| 10 to 20km | 114 | $9,281 | $7,458 to $11,117 |
| 20 to 30km | 99 | $11,546 | $10,331 to $13,406 |
| 30 to 50km | 112 | $12,509 | $11,068 to $13,548 |
| 50km and beyond | 26 | $11,461 | $8,718 to $12,183 |
Read the last band carefully. Cost rises with distance up to about 50km and then falls, which is not a bargain appearing at the edge of the map. The commute model tapers beyond 50km on the assumption that someone living that far out is not driving into the CBD five days a week. If you would be, the figure in that band understates what you would actually pay, and the suburb page for the specific suburb is the place to check.
A household leaving Sydney, worked through
Lilli Pilli sits 23.5km from the Sydney CBD, closest to the Greater Sydney median of 23.55km. Petrie is the Greater Brisbane suburb nearest that same distance at 23.4km, so the two are matched on commute rather than chosen to flatter either city.
| Comparable cost | Lilli Pilli | Petrie |
|---|---|---|
| Water and sewerage | $1,548 | $2,144 |
| Commute, driving | $5,799 | $5,785 |
| Building insurance (AI estimate) | $1,850 | $2,150 |
| Total, driving | $9,197 | $10,079 |
| Total, public transport | $5,798 | $4,486 |
Driving, the move costs $882 a year. On public transport it saves $1,312. Council rates are not in either column, for the reason given above.
What to budget for before you move
- Council rates. Brisbane City charges from $950 on an owner-occupied house, but the five councils differ. Work your own valuation through the Brisbane City rates calculator, or pick yours from council rates by area.
- Water and sewerage. Set by the utility, not the council, and it varies across Greater Brisbane from $1,900 to $2,308 a year in this dataset.
- The commute. The largest single line for most suburbs here, and the one that moves most with where you land. Median $5,378 driving against $192 on public transport.
- Building insurance. AI-estimated, marked est throughout, and driven mainly by flood exposure in this part of Queensland. Median $2,150.
- Electricity. Not in the totals above, because it depends on household size and tariff zone rather than suburb alone. The electricity bill calculator estimates it from AER benchmarks.
To work these through for your own household, the Suburbs by budget tool takes your budget, how many days you go into the CBD, whether you own or rent and how many people live with you, and lists the Greater Brisbane suburbs that fit.
Methodology
Sets. Greater Brisbane is the five-council set: Brisbane City, Moreton Bay, Redland, Ipswich and Logan, 443 suburbs. Greater Sydney is the Greater Sydney Commission boundary less Wollondilly, 760 suburbs across 32 councils, the same definition used in the other Sydney studies here. A suburb is included only where its own council figure is real, never where a neighbouring council's rate is standing in.
Costs. Council rates are 2026-27 figures from each council's own rating resolution or revenue statement. Water and sewerage are the utilities' 2026-27 charges. The commute is modelled from straight-line distance to the CBD at the ATO rate of 91c a kilometre, not surveyed, and tapers beyond 50km as described above. Building insurance is AI-estimated (Claude, by Anthropic) and marked wherever it appears. Electricity is excluded from the totals and estimated separately.
The Sydney comparison. Council rates are left out of every figure set beside Sydney, because Queensland publishes a minimum general rate and New South Wales an OLG average uplifted by the IPART peg. Within Brisbane, where every suburb sits on one basis, rates are included.
Every figure on this page is emitted from SuburbCost's suburb data rather than typed. No property prices, medians or capital growth appear anywhere on this site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brisbane cheaper to live in than Sydney?
Not on the costs compared here, if you drive. Adding up three bills for each suburb, water, a modelled driving commute and building insurance, the median Greater Brisbane suburb comes to $9,631 a year against $8,719 in Greater Sydney, so Brisbane is $912 dearer. On public transport the order reverses and Brisbane is $1,456 cheaper. Council rates are left out of both figures because Queensland publishes a minimum and New South Wales an average, which are not the same statistic. Electricity is left out too; adding it narrows the driving gap to $491, because Brisbane's power is cheaper.
What does a house cost to run in Brisbane?
The median across the 443 suburbs of the five Greater Brisbane councils is $10,958 a year driving and $5,540 on public transport, covering council rates, water and sewerage, the modelled commute and estimated building insurance. The range is wide: $5,209 in the cheapest suburb against $13,548 in the dearest.
Does living further from the Brisbane CBD cost more?
Up to about 50km, yes. Beyond that the modelled commute falls rather than rises, because the model assumes someone living that far out is not driving into the CBD five days a week. That is a modelling assumption, not a measurement, so treat the last band as describing a different kind of household rather than a cheaper version of the same one.
Are council rates included when comparing Brisbane with Sydney?
No, and deliberately. Queensland councils publish a minimum general rate for an owner-occupied principal place of residence, a floor most owners exceed. New South Wales councils report an average rate, uplifted here by the IPART peg. Averaging a floor against an average produces a number that describes neither city, so every cross-city figure on this page leaves rates out and says so.
Cite this data
SuburbCost data is free to cite with attribution. Please link to this page as the source.
Related studies
- Moving to Queensland, the same question across the whole state including the regions.
- Brisbane vs Sydney running costs, matched suburb by suburb.
- Brisbane council rates 2026-27, what each of the five councils charges.
- How to calculate council rates, the formula behind the rates line.