Bowral flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Bowral
(Wingecarribee, NSW) - 39.66 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
39.66 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Bowral's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Bowral
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 5,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Bowral at a glance
How Bowral is zoned
Buying in Bowral? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 39.66 km², Bowral is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 4% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 68% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 109 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Environmental Management. The median lot measures about 1,096 m² across 4,974 parcels.
Who lives in Bowral
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Bowral suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1063, and decile 9 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Bowral's 10,764 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Bowral, the wider ABS statistical area containing Bowral. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Bowral itself.
10,983 in 2001 to 13,404 in 2025, up 22%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Bowral data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Bowral address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Bowral lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Bowral planning - frequently asked
Is Bowral flood-prone?
About 4% of Bowral falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 0%.
Is Bowral bushfire-prone?
Around 68% of Bowral is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Wingecarribee average of 90%.
Is Bowral under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 64% of Bowral in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 2,500 ft. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Bowral?
The dominant planning zone in Bowral is Environmental Management, though the suburb also includes Low Density Residential and Large Lot Residential.
Does Bowral have heritage-listed places?
Bowral has 109 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Bowral?
Across 4,974 surveyed parcels in Bowral, the median lot size is about 1,096 m². There are also 56 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Bowral have a train station?
Yes - Bowral has 1 train station: Bowral Station. It is also served by 124 bus stops.
What is the population of Bowral?
At the 2021 Census Bowral had 10,764 usual residents, with a median age of 55 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Bowral statistical area, which contains Bowral, went from 10,983 people in 2001 to 13,404 in 2025, up 22%.
Is Bowral an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Bowral scores 1063 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 9 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Bowral?
Median household income in Bowral was $1,535 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,958 for the typical suburb in Wingecarribee. Median rent was $500 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,167 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burradoo | 3.3 km | 2% | 42% |
| Welby | 4.9 km | 0% | 77% |
| Mittagong | 5.8 km | 0% | 90% |
| Renwick | 6.1 km | 0% | 22% |
| Willow Vale | 7.3 km | 0% | 60% |
| Glenquarry | 7.3 km | 0% | 94% |
| Balaclava | 7.4 km | 0% | 66% |
| Moss Vale | 8.3 km | <1% | 82% |
| Berrima | 8.3 km | 1% | 98% |
| New Berrima | 8.3 km | 0% | 50% |