Dows Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Dows Creek
(Mackay Regional, QLD) - 30.74 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 19 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
30.74 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Dows Creek's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across Dows Creek properties?
Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 116 Dows Creek properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 116 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Dows Creek.
Dows Creek at a glance
Schools in and near Dows Creek
Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb. These figures do not rate schools and do not assign a particular address to a catchment.
Inside the suburb boundary
0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 3.99 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 7.67 km from the suburb boundary
Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.
How Dows Creek is zoned
Selling in Dows Creek? 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 30.74 km², Dows Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 34% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is gently undulating, and the median lot measures about 154,985 m² across 129 parcels.
Who lives in Dows Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Dows Creek 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 967, and decile 6 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Dows Creek's 146 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Pioneer Valley, the wider ABS statistical area containing Dows Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Dows Creek itself.
4,997 in 2001 to 9,449 in 2025, up 89%.
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.
Dows Creek 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 | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
Profile last materially updated 19 September 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 Dows Creek 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.
Published flood models are held over parts of Dows Creek. 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 (+$9 with the planning report).
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Dows Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Dows Creek planning - frequently asked
Is Dows Creek flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Dows Creek and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 34%). Across the suburb, 0% of the 116 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk.
Is Dows Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 34% of Dows Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Mackay Regional average of 26%.
What is the zoning in Dows Creek?
The dominant planning zone in Dows Creek is Rural, though the suburb also includes Conservation.
Does Dows Creek have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Dows Creek.
Is Dows Creek hilly or flat?
Dows Creek is gently undulating: the median ground slope is about 6%, and 22% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 62 m to 213 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Dows Creek?
Across 129 surveyed parcels in Dows Creek, the median lot size is about 154,985 m². There are also 8 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Dows Creek?
At the 2021 Census Dows Creek had 146 usual residents, with a median age of 41 and an average household size of 3.1 people. The wider Pioneer Valley statistical area, which contains Dows Creek, went from 4,997 people in 2001 to 9,449 in 2025, up 89%.
Is Dows Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Dows Creek scores 967 and sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Dows Creek?
Median household income in Dows Creek was $2,562 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,937 for the typical suburb in Mackay Regional. Median rent was $180 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,465 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Martin | 5.6 km | 0% | 34% |
| Gargett | 6.2 km | 0% | 28% |
| Owens Creek | 6.5 km | <1% | 30% |
| Benholme | 7.6 km | <1% | 15% |
| Mount Charlton | 12.0 km | 0% | 48% |
| Devereux Creek | 12.7 km | 12% | 62% |
| Mirani | 12.9 km | 36% | 1% |
| Mia Mia | 14.7 km | 0% | 36% |
| Mount Ossa | 14.9 km | 9% | 44% |
| Pinnacle | 15.6 km | <1% | 69% |