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Brisbane offers the best of both worlds for both Aussies and overseas visitors.
It’s a city that is less chaotic than the bustling streets of Melbourne or Sydney but is still full of life and overflowing with art, culture and cuisine.
Brisbane is home to over 2 million people and it boasts a cosmopolitan lifestyle with over 300 days of sunshine every year, and is now more popular than ever.
And it’s easy to see the city’s appeal, especially amid the sea- and tree-change shift which picked up during the pandemic.
Many Sydneysiders and Melburnians flocked northwards in search of lifestyle suburbs and more affordable property.
And it has made Queensland’s population boom.
After booming through 2020 and 2021 with prices rising by 45.3%, Brisbane housing values fell -8.9% from their peak in May 2022 through to the recent trough in January 2023.
But the Brisbane housing market has clearly turned the corner in early 2023 with prices rising consistently – now up 13.1% since January 2023.
It makes sense then that Brisbane is a great location to consider for property investment, but not all suburbs and areas are created equal.
The property market may be robust, but is it a good place to live, or a solid investment prospect?
After all, whether you’re looking to buy your next investment property, new home, or even apply for a new rental in 2023, it’s important to suss out how safe the area is as part of your suburb research.
So is Brisbane a safe place to live?
According to Budget Direct, the average crime rate across Queensland is 130 crimes per 1,000 properties.
But the CBD area, covered by postcode 4000, has a much higher crime rate of 429 crimes per 1,000 properties!
Although that rate might sound a little alarming, keep in mind that these crimes cover a full range of potential issues, from unlawful entry and attempted break-ins to theft and property damage.
Some properties in low socio-economic areas experience multiple criminal acts every month, while other suburbs can go months or years without incident.
A more reassuring way to assess the risk is using Budget Direct’s latest home break-in stats, which reveal that around 2.4% of households are at risk of a break-in.
Fortunately, when we drill down into the data a little further, we can uncover many suburbs that safety-conscious home buyers and renters can look to for a peaceful and secure place to live.
But where are the safest suburbs in Brisbane specifically?
Here we’ve broken it down.
What are the safest suburbs in Brisbane?
Crime statistics compiled by Find My Rates look at data on the total number of criminal incidents recorded per 100 people in suburbs with a population of 1,500 or greater as of December 2022.
Criminal incidents are any crimes against a person, or property, drug offences, public order and security offences and justice procedures offences.
The list includes anything from assault, stalking and theft to arson, drug dealing or manufacture and even breaches of orders.
Brisbane’s north-western suburbs Upper Kedron and Anstead in the outer west of the city have made the list as the two safest suburbs in Brisbane thanks to their low crime rates versus population numbers.
The remaining safe suburbs are spread across regional Queensland.
The safest suburbs in QLD by criminal incidents
| Criminal incidents Recorded / 100 People | |
| Murray | 0.575 |
| Coes Creek | 0.792 |
| Samford Valley | 0.873 |
| Rockyview | 0.922 |
| Highvale | 1.061 |
| Upper Kedron | 1.121 |
| Bonogin | 1.164 |
| Anstead | 1.183 |
| Gooburrum | 1.186 |
| Bunya | 1.22 |
Here are the top 10 safest suburbs in Brisbane:
1. Murray
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 13
Population: 1,739
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 0.575
Murray, a suburb of Townsville in the City of Townsville, Queensland had just 13 recorded crimes in 2022, a 38% decrease (or -8 incidents) from the year prior.
Drug and traffic-related offences made up the majority – at 3 each.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of burglary, theft, robbery or homicide during the year.
2. Coes Creek
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 12
Population: 1,515
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 0.792
Coes Creek is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, and had just 12 crime incidents recorded in 2022 – 57% less than in 2021, or -16 incidents.
The Queensland suburb had the same number of burglaries (1) over the year while the number of theft incidents decreased by 33% to just 2 and there was just 1 reported incident of theft.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of homicide during the year.
3. Samford Valley
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 28
Population: 3,208
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 0.873
Samford, a town in Moreton Bay Region, South East Queensland recorded 28 criminal incidents in 2022, 3% less than in 2021.
The number of burglaries rose 50% to 6 incidents and the number of theft incidents increased 67% to 5 over the year.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
4. Rockyview
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 17
Population: 1,735
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 0.922
As a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Rockyview is another remarkably safe suburb with just 17 criminal incidents recorded in 2022, which represents a 113% increase (or 9 more incidents) year-on-year.
There were 150% more burglaries in 2022, at 5, but thefts dropped 50% to just 1 during the same time period.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
5. Highvale
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 21
Population: 1,979
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.061
Highvale, a rural residential locality in the Moreton Bay Region of Queensland, recorded 21 incidents in 2022 – that was a 62% increase (or 8 extra incidents) from the year before.
The increases mainly came in the categories of assault (6) and property damage (7), but there was just 1 burglary (a 50% decrease) and 1 theft (a 67% decrease) during the same time period.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
6. Upper Kedron
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 35
Population: 5,800
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.121
Upper Kedron, an outer north-western suburb in the City of Brisbane of Queensland, makes the list as the Brisbane suburb with the lowest crime rate in 2022 – at 35 incidents, a 43% decrease (or 26 fewer incidents) compared to 2021.
There were 3 burglaries during the year (an increase of 40%), and 4 thefts (a 50% increase) during the same time period.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
7. Bonogin
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 29
Population: 4,896
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.164
Bonogin is a rural hinterland locality in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland which recorded 29 incidents during 2022 – a 19% decrease, or -7 incidents, versus 2021.
There were 2 burglaries over the time period, which was a 60% decrease year-on-year, and 6 thefts, which is a 14% drop from the year prior.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
8. Anstead
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 19
Population: 1,522
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.183
Anstead, an outer western suburb in the City of Brisbane in Queensland 21km south-west of the city centre, reported a 5% decrease (-1 incidents) compared to 2021.
There were 2 burglaries and 2 thefts which represented no change and a 50% decrease year-on-year respectively.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
9. Gooburrum
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 18
Population: 1,518
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.186
Gooburrum, a rural locality in the Bundaberg Region in Queensland, had 18 crime incidents in 2022, which was 10% less than in 2021, or -2 incidents.
There were 3 burglaries and 3 thefts, both representing a 200% increase from the year prior.
Crimes in the theft and unlawful entry categories comprise the majority of increases, at 3 incidents each.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
10. Bunya
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending December 2022: 20
Population: 1,968
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.22
Bunya, another suburb in Queensland’s Moreton Bay Region, 18km northwest of the Brisbane CBD, recorded 20 criminal incidents over the year, a 49% decrease year-on-year, or 19 fewer incidents.
The decrease was mainly due to a drop in burglaries (93% to just 1 incident in the year) while there were 3 thefts reported.
There were no recorded criminal incidents of robbery or homicide during the year.
Investment-grade properties are key
These suburbs have all been identified as being “low risk” when it comes to crime statistics, but that doesn’t necessarily mean properties in these locations are automatically a strong investment prospect.
There are more than 11 million dwellings in Australia, and they’re not all created equal.
In fact, in my mind, fewer than 4% of the properties on the market at any given time are what I would call “investment grade”.
We’ve written plenty of articles and voiced many podcasts over time to share what I consider an investment-grade property is (more here and here if you’d like to explore), so I won’t go into the characteristics of a great investment or the type of properties that fit these criteria.
Instead, I encourage you to consider:
- What your investment goals are
- Why do you want to invest in property
- And how real estate can help you reach your goals?
Your property journey might involve a Brisbane-based property… or it could involve 2, or even 10… or none!
The right investment strategy for you is personal and based on your own unique risk profile, income, expenses and goals. Taking all of these into consideration to work out your “goal” is key because once you know what you’re aiming for, it becomes much easier to plan the steps you need to take to get there.
