Areas / Townsville City / Cranbrook

Cranbrook flood map & planning overlays

Cranbrook's 5,844 residents share 26 bus stops.

A planning-constraint profile of Cranbrook (Townsville City, QLD) - 3.39 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Cranbrook'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

How common is mapped flood risk across Cranbrook properties?

Counts of properties, not share of land, across 2,675 analysed Cranbrook properties; no individual property result is identified.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Cranbrook

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026

Under observed aircraft
100%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
100%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
500 ft
averaging 1,000 ft
Busiest square
~51 a day
51 a day below 3,000 ft · ±7%
typical observed square 3 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 500 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.

How this is measured

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.

Cranbrook at a glance

Parcels 2,539 Median lot 610 m² Mapped easements 66 Bus stops 26 Schools in suburb 3

Schools in and near Cranbrook

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

3

2 schools providing primary years and 1 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: inside the suburb

Secondary: inside the suburb

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.

Which school zone is a Cranbrook address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.

How Cranbrook is zoned

Low Density Residential 65%
Community Facilities 18%
Open Space 9%
Medium Density Residential 3%
Sport and Recreation 3%
Major Centre 2%

Selling in Cranbrook? 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 3.39 km², Cranbrook is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 74% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 8% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 610 m² across 2,539 parcels.

Recent development applications in Cranbrook

Applications are counted across the whole gazetted suburb from the public Townsville City Council register. No application address or individual property is published here.

Submitted in the past 12 months

32

Latest included submission: 21 October 2026.

Previous 12 months: 62 (48% lower in the latest period).

Counts depend on applications that the council publishes and that can be assigned to a suburb. Categories can overlap when one application covers several types. Totals below five and their latest dates are suppressed. Register last synchronised 8 November 2026. Check the official council register.

Who lives in Cranbrook

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Cranbrook suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
5,844
usual residents, 2021
Median age
40
years
Median household income
$1,400
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $1,510
Median rent
$293
per week, Townsville City suburb typical $291
Median mortgage
$1,300
per month
Household size
2.5
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 931, and decile 3 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 2
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Cranbrook's 5,844 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.3%
5-14 11.8%
15-19 6.1%
20-24 7.3%
25-34 13.0%
35-44 11.2%
45-54 12.4%
55-64 12.5%
65-74 10.4%
75-84 7.9%
85+ 2.2%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Cranbrook, the wider ABS statistical area containing Cranbrook. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Cranbrook itself.

6,634 in 2001 to 6,096 in 2025, down 8%.

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.

Cranbrook data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government
Development applicationsAvailable as suburb totalsTownsville City Council

Profile last materially updated 7 November 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 Cranbrook 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 →

Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 100% of Cranbrook. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Published flood models are held over parts of Cranbrook. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.

The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).

Moving here? The Liveability section adds walking times from the address to schools, parks, shops and transport, and the school zones it sits in (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Cranbrook lot.

Cranbrook planning - frequently asked

Is Cranbrook flood-prone?

About 74% of Cranbrook falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 57%. Across the suburb, 0% of the 2,675 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk. Published flood models are held over parts of Cranbrook; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.

Is Cranbrook bushfire-prone?

Around 8% of Cranbrook is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Townsville City average of 50%.

Is Cranbrook under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 100% of Cranbrook, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 1,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 51 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. 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 Cranbrook?

The dominant planning zone in Cranbrook is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Community Facilities and Open Space.

Does Cranbrook have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Cranbrook.

Is Cranbrook hilly or flat?

Cranbrook is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 10 m to 16 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Cranbrook?

Across 2,539 surveyed parcels in Cranbrook, the median lot size is about 610 m². There are also 66 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Cranbrook have a train station?

There is no train station inside Cranbrook itself. The suburb is served by 26 bus stops.

What is the population of Cranbrook?

At the 2021 Census Cranbrook had 5,844 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Cranbrook statistical area, which contains Cranbrook, went from 6,634 people in 2001 to 6,096 in 2025, down 8%.

Is Cranbrook an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Cranbrook scores 931 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 3 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Cranbrook?

Median household income in Cranbrook was $1,400 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,510 for the typical suburb in Townsville City. Median rent was $293 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,300 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Heatley 1.4 km 71% 0%
Aitkenvale 1.8 km 91% 3%
Douglas 2.1 km 56% 65%
Vincent 2.7 km 91% 0%
Thuringowa Central 3.0 km 78% 10%
Annandale 3.2 km 95% 15%
Gulliver 3.3 km 100% 2%
Mount Louisa 3.5 km 63% 45%
Mundingburra 3.5 km 100% 18%
Kirwan 3.9 km 93% 8%

See all Townsville City suburb profiles →