Best suburbs in Brisbane for families
Safety, schools, parks per resident, kinders and childcare, house prices for the size and transit — weighted, and shown.
Kenmore (85/100), Ashgrove (84/100), Ferny Grove (83/100) lead this ranking of 277 Brisbane suburbs.
By BestSuburbs research · Updated October 2026
Part of Brisbane suburb rankings · all Brisbane lists
Which Brisbane suburbs are best for families?
How do the top 25 compare, measure by measure?
| # | Suburb | Families score | Safety | Schools (govt data) | Green space | Transit | Median house price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kenmore | 85 | 93 | 3 | 49 | 58 | $1,420,000 |
| 2 |  Ashgrove | 84 | 96 | 2 | 68 | 78 | $1,850,000 |
| 3 |  Ferny Grove | 83 | 83 | 2 | 64 | 47 | $1,339,000 |
| 4 |  St Lucia | 81 | 93 | 1 | 61 | 70 | $2,070,000 |
| 5 |  Bardon | 81 | 96 | 3 | 46 | 86 | $1,912,000 |
| 6 |  Chermside West | 80 | 80 | 2 | 84 | 69 | $1,255,000 |
| 7 |  Indooroopilly | 80 | 93 | 2 | 59 | 75 | $1,820,000 |
| 8 |  McDowall | 79 | 98 | 1 | 85 | 43 | $1,335,000 |
| 9 |  Fig Tree Pocket | 79 | 93 | 1 | 75 | 38 | $2,080,000 |
| 10 |  Corinda | 78 | 89 | 1 | 64 | 55 | $1,300,000 |
| 11 |  Albany Creek | 78 | 98 | 3 | 72 | 34 | $1,270,000 |
| 12 |  Calamvale | 76 | 87 | 2 | 60 | 55 | $1,420,000 |
| 13 |  The Gap | 75 | 96 | 4 | 42 | 42 | $1,400,000 |
| 14 |  Stretton | 75 | 87 | 1 | 91 | 53 | $1,420,000 |
| 15 |  Aspley | 74 | 80 | 3 | 60 | 68 | $1,285,000 |
| 16 |  Sherwood | 74 | 89 | 1 | 45 | 61 | $1,461,250 |
| 17 |  Oxley | 73 | 89 | 1 | 46 | 47 | $1,080,000 |
| 18 |  Auchenflower | 73 | 93 | 0 | 19 | 89 | $1,925,000 |
| 19 |  Mount Gravatt | 73 | 61 | 2 | 70 | 69 | $1,400,000 |
| 20 |  Brookfield | 72 | 93 | 1 | 47 | 13 | $1,888,000 |
| 21 |  Springwood | 72 | 53 | 3 | 62 | 59 | $1,125,000 |
| 22 |  Newmarket | 72 | 64 | 1 | 48 | 81 | $1,517,500 |
| 23 |  Seven Hills | 72 | 56 | 1 | 78 | 62 | $1,700,000 |
| 24 |  Shorncliffe | 72 | 74 | 1 | 76 | 63 | $1,290,050 |
| 25 |  Yeerongpilly | 72 | 89 | 0 | 46 | 79 | $1,637,500 |
Showing the top 25 of 277 ranked suburbs. Scores are percentiles against every other suburb in Brisbane: 100 is the best in the city, 50 is mid-table. Click any suburb for its full profile.
Why are these the 10 best Brisbane suburbs for families? (October 2026)
Updated 15 October 2026 · one sentence of real reasons per suburb, from the data on this page. Crime here is published per police division, not per suburb, so these lines quote no crime figures.
- Kenmore ★ 85
Kenmore (#1) scores on 88% of it within 400 m of a park and 2 government primary schools and 1 secondary inside the suburb, and 8 cafés.
- Ashgrove ★ 84
What lifts Ashgrove to #2 is 100% of it within 400 m of a park; it also has 2 government primary schools inside the suburb, and 100 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 78.
- Ferny Grove ★ 83
Ferny Grove takes #3 on 94% of it within 400 m of a park, with 1 government primary school and 1 secondary inside the suburb, and 5.7 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- St Lucia ★ 81
At #4, St Lucia combines 100% of it within 400 m of a park and 18 cafés, and 1 government primary school inside the suburb.
- Bardon ★ 81
Bardon (#5) scores on 89% of it within 400 m of a park and 114 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 86, and 3 government primary schools inside the suburb.
- Chermside West ★ 80
At #6, Chermside West combines 99% of it within 400 m of a park and 12.3 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents, and 1 government primary school and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Indooroopilly ★ 80
At #7, Indooroopilly combines 95% of it within 400 m of a park and 23 cafés, and 1 government primary school and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- McDowall ★ 79
McDowall (#8) scores on 100% of it within 400 m of a park and 12.4 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents, and 1 government primary school inside the suburb.
- Fig Tree Pocket ★ 79
Fig Tree Pocket (#9) scores on 95% of it within 400 m of a park and 1 government primary school inside the suburb, and 12.1 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- Corinda ★ 78
At #10, Corinda combines 97% of it within 400 m of a park and 1 secondary inside the suburb, and 4.8 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
Why each of the top 10 suburbs for families in Brisbane ranks where it does
Written from this page's own data: each figure below is the suburb's own value, set against the Brisbane median where we hold one.
1. Kenmore
Kenmore is #1 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 85/100. Its strongest family components are kinders and childcare 96, schools 94, safety 93 (each out of 100). It covers 5.8 km² with about 9,675 residents (census).
2. Ashgrove
Ashgrove is #2 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 84/100. Its strongest family components are safety 96, green space 90, public transport 78 (each out of 100). It covers 5.4 km² with about 13,450 residents (census).
3. Ferny Grove
Ferny Grove is #3 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 83/100. Its strongest family components are schools 96, kinders and childcare 92, safety 83 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 14/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 3.7 km² with about 5,871 residents (census).
4. St Lucia
St Lucia is #4 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 81/100. Its strongest family components are safety 93, green space 89, kinders and childcare 76 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 21/100 for value for rent, so it is weaker there. It covers 4.5 km² with about 12,220 residents (census).
5. Bardon
Bardon is #5 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 81/100. Its strongest family components are safety 96, public transport 86, kinders and childcare 83 (each out of 100). It covers 4.7 km² with about 10,153 residents (census).
6. Chermside West
Chermside West is #6 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 80/100. Its strongest family components are kinders and childcare 98, schools 93, safety 80 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 14/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 3.6 km² with about 6,965 residents (census).
7. Indooroopilly
Indooroopilly is #7 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 80/100. Its strongest family components are safety 93, kinders and childcare 80, public transport 75 (each out of 100). It covers 7.7 km² with about 13,622 residents (census).
8. McDowall
McDowall is #8 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 79/100. Its strongest family components are safety 98, kinders and childcare 83, green space 78 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 14/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 4.2 km² with about 7,612 residents (census).
9. Fig Tree Pocket
Fig Tree Pocket is #9 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 79/100. Its strongest family components are safety 93, green space 85, schools 83 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 38/100 for public transport, so it is weaker there. It covers 4.8 km² with about 4,345 residents (census).
10. Corinda
Corinda is #10 of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs on this list, with a score of 78/100. Its strongest family components are safety 89, schools 79, kinders and childcare 79 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 14/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 2.9 km² with about 5,555 residents (census).
How do these suburbs compare head to head?
What else do people ask about suburbs for families in Brisbane?
What are the best suburbs in Brisbane for families?
On our October 2026 data the top five are Kenmore (85/100), Ashgrove (84/100), Ferny Grove (83/100), St Lucia (81/100), Bardon (81/100), out of 277 ranked Brisbane suburbs.
How is this ranking calculated?
Families score v2 (10 September 2026): safety 30%, schools 25% (schools per 1,000 residents from government school-location data where available, plus a primary within 800 m and a secondary within 2 km), parks and green space per 1,000 residents 15%, kinders and childcare per 1,000 10%, house price for the size 10% (median house price against the city median, gently), and public transport 10%. Weights are renormalised where a city lacks a component. v1 penalised dense inner suburbs for park hectares and leaned on OpenStreetMap school points; see the honesty note below. 277 of 277 Brisbane suburbs had enough data to be ranked. Updated October 2026.Median house prices for Brisbane were added on 1 October 2026 and are shown in the table, but are not yet counted in this score; the ranking is unchanged until that is reviewed.
Is this ranking sponsored?
No. No ranking on this site is sold or sponsored. It is computed from open data: GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, the ABS census and OpenStreetMap.
What other Brisbane rankings are there?
Sources: open GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, ABS census,
OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Sale prices: Queensland Regional Profiles (QGSO), 12 months ending 31 March 2026 — © The State of Queensland (Queensland Treasury), Queensland Government Statistician's Office, Queensland Regional Profiles, CC BY 4.0; suburb-to-SA2 placement via ABS ASGS 2021 (CC BY 4.0). Queensland publishes sale medians per ABS Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2 — "broadly equivalent to suburb size"), not per suburb, so this is the median for the SA2 the suburb sits in (named next to each figure when it differs); detached dwellings = houses, attached = units. The window is the latest 12 months, not a quarter, and QGSO withholds medians under 10 sales. No ranking on this site is sold or sponsored.
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