Thornton flood map & planning overlays
Thornton is 80.1% bushfire-mapped but only 15.3% flood-mapped, over 21 ha holdings.
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A planning-constraint profile of Thornton
(Lockyer Valley Regional, QLD) - 95.41 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
95.41 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Thornton'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 Thornton
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
typical observed square 0 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 6,500 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.
Thornton at a glance
Schools in and near Thornton
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
1 school providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: 12.36 km from the suburb boundary
Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time.
Which school zone is a Thornton address in? Check an address with our free school zone checker.
How Thornton is zoned
Selling in Thornton? 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 95.41 km², Thornton is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 15% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 80% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 211,249 m² across 229 parcels.
Who lives in Thornton
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Thornton 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 992, and decile 7 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Thornton's 214 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Lockyer Valley - East, the wider ABS statistical area containing Thornton. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Thornton itself.
13,192 in 2001 to 24,138 in 2025, up 83%.
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.
Thornton 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 |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
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 Thornton 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 21% of Thornton. 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 Thornton. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$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 Thornton lot.
Thornton planning - frequently asked
Is Thornton flood-prone?
About 15% of Thornton falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 29%. Published flood models are held over parts of Thornton; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Thornton bushfire-prone?
Around 80% of Thornton is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Lockyer Valley Regional average of 61%.
Is Thornton under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 21% of Thornton, and over about 78% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 1,500 ft, with an average of 4,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 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 Thornton?
The dominant planning zone in Thornton is Rural, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Open Space.
Does Thornton have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Thornton.
What is the typical lot size in Thornton?
Across 229 surveyed parcels in Thornton, the median lot size is about 211,249 m². There are also 27 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Thornton?
At the 2021 Census Thornton had 214 usual residents, with a median age of 49 and an average household size of 2.4 people. The wider Lockyer Valley - East statistical area, which contains Thornton, went from 13,192 people in 2001 to 24,138 in 2025, up 83%.
Is Thornton an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Thornton scores 992 and sits in decile 6 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Thornton?
Median household income in Thornton was $1,678 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,521 for the typical suburb in Lockyer Valley Regional. Median rent was $210 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,500 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Mort Ipswich City |
7.6 km | 8% | 76% |
| Mulgowie | 8.4 km | 22% | 73% |
| Mount Berryman | 9.2 km | 3% | 72% |
| Lefthand Branch | 10.0 km | Not mapped | 91% |
| Ingoldsby | 10.2 km | Not mapped | 72% |
| Townson | 12.3 km | 8% | 94% |
| Merryvale Scenic Rim Regional |
12.3 km | Not mapped | 42% |
| East Haldon | 13.0 km | 2% | 93% |
| Rockside | 13.1 km | Not mapped | 68% |
| Mount Walker West Ipswich City |
13.2 km | Not mapped | 47% |