Bowen Hills flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Bowen Hills (Brisbane City, QLD) - 1.72 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Everything below is suburb-wide. Overlays change block to block - see which ones actually touch your lot. The map is free.
Constraint readout
1.72 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Bowen Hills's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. It shows where constraints fall; the interactive map shows them on your exact address.
Bowen Hills flood risk at the property level
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched, from our lot-by-lot analysis of 4,217 Bowen Hills properties.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 4,217 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Bowen Hills.
Bowen Hills at a glance
How Bowen Hills is zoned
Selling in Bowen Hills? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.
Across its 1.72 km², Bowen Hills is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 61% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay. There are 29 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Priority Development Area - Part 10 of Brisbane City Plan 2014. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 357 m² across 1,108 parcels. These figures are suburb-wide - the overlays that actually apply to a given lot can differ block to block, which is what a property-level check tells you.
Who lives in Bowen Hills
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Bowen Hills 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 1060, and decile 10 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Bowen Hills's 4,898 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Newstead - Bowen Hills, the wider ABS statistical area containing Bowen Hills. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Bowen Hills itself.
3,736 in 2001 to 21,474 in 2025, up 475%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Census of Population and Housing 2021 (General Community Profile) and SEIFA 2021, both published at the Suburbs and Localities level; Regional Population (estimated resident population) at Statistical Area Level 2. Used under CC BY 4.0. Census counts of small populations are randomly adjusted by the ABS to protect confidentiality, so figures for small suburbs are indicative.
Check a specific Bowen Hills 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.
See what's in the $9 report →Bowen Hills planning - frequently asked
Where can I see a flood map of Bowen Hills?
The schematic on this page is a Bowen Hills flood map: the mapped flood overlays drawn over the suburb's terrain and street grid, covering about 61% of the suburb. Flood lines vary block to block, so for a specific property use the free interactive map - search any Bowen Hills address and it shows the flood, zoning and bushfire mapping on the exact lot boundary.
Is Bowen Hills flood-prone?
About 61% of Bowen Hills falls within a mapped flood overlay, against a Brisbane City average of 40%. Looking lot by lot, 11% of the 4,217 properties we analysed in Bowen Hills carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 165 rated high risk or historically affected. Flood overlays vary block to block, so whether a particular lot is affected needs a property-level check.
Is Bowen Hills bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers Bowen Hills and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Brisbane City average is 27%). Always confirm for the exact lot, as mapping can change.
What is the zoning in Bowen Hills?
The dominant planning zone in Bowen Hills is Priority Development Area - Part 10 of Brisbane City Plan 2014, though the suburb also includes Emerging community and Special purpose (Transport infrastructure). Zoning sets what you can build and do on a site, and can differ lot by lot.
Does Bowen Hills have heritage-listed places?
Bowen Hills has 29 heritage-listed places on record. Heritage listing affects what you can alter or demolish, so confirm whether a specific property is listed or near a heritage place.
Is Bowen Hills hilly or flat?
Bowen Hills is gently undulating: the median lot slope is about 8%, and 16% of properties sit on slopes of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 3 m to 37 m AHD across the suburb. Slope drives site costs - cut and fill, retaining walls and driveway grades - so it is worth knowing before you commit to a sloping block.
What is the typical lot size in Bowen Hills?
Across 1,108 surveyed parcels in Bowen Hills, the median lot size is about 357 m². There are also 251 registered easements mapped in the suburb - an easement can restrict where you can build, so always check the title and overlays for the specific lot.
Does Bowen Hills have a train station?
Yes - Bowen Hills has 1 train station: Bowen Hills station. It is also served by 16 bus stops.
What is the population of Bowen Hills?
At the 2021 Census Bowen Hills had 4,898 usual residents, with a median age of 30 and an average household size of 1.6 people. The wider Newstead - Bowen Hills statistical area, which contains Bowen Hills, went from 3,736 people in 2001 to 21,474 in 2025, up 475%. ABS publishes no annual population series for individual suburbs, so that trend describes the surrounding area rather than Bowen Hills alone.
Is Bowen Hills an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Bowen Hills scores 1060 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within Queensland - decile 1 being the most disadvantaged tenth of Australian suburbs and decile 10 the least. The national average score is 1000. SEIFA summarises income, education, occupation and housing across the whole suburb, so it describes the area, not any particular household in it.
What is the median household income in Bowen Hills?
Median household income in Bowen Hills was $1,551 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,122 for the typical suburb in Brisbane City. Median rent was $390 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,614 a month. These are 2021 Census figures and have not been indexed to today.
Do I need a planning report for a Bowen Hills property?
A Bowen Hills planning report pulls every overlay - zoning, flood, bushfire, heritage and environmental - that touches a single lot, on live council and state data. The interactive map preview is free; a full PDF report is $9.