Albion Is Top 9 Greater Brisbane Suburbs for Liveability

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What makes a suburb a liveable place? A recent Domain study aims to determine just that, and you’ll surely be happy to know that across 17 indicators, Albion ranks high among the 260 Greater Brisbane suburbs in terms of liveability.

The Domain Liveable Brisbane study findings have shown that the ten most liveable suburbs were situated in the inner north. Sitting at the ninth spot is Albion, thanks to its cultural and cafe offerings. Albion residents also benefit from ease of access to bus services and access to employment.


Top ranking Alderley, scored 10 out of 10 in public transport and open space, and also scored well across other criteria including low crime rate and access to schools. Apart from public transport and open space, however, Alderley scored best for tree cover and topographic variation.

The top 10 Greater Brisbane suburbs for liveability are Alderley, Wilston, Ascot, Paddington, Newmarket, Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Windsor, Albion, and Grange.

The Domain Liveable Cities study is authored by Deloitte Access Economics and Tract Consultants which, based on several indicators, measures liveability in suburbs across Melbourne, Sydney, and for the first time this year, Brisbane. 

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The indicators used in the study for Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane were:


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  1. Culture – the density of cultural services such as libraries, museums, and galleries
  2. Retail – the density of retail offerings and the proportion of a suburb covered by retail outlets
  3. Cafes and restaurants – the density and proximity of cafes and restaurants in a suburb
  4. Employment – the proportion of a suburb’s population that can walk to work
  5. Train/bus/tram –  measures the access to train stations and bus stops
  6. Ferry – the average distance from the suburb’s centre to the closest ferry wharf
  7. Open space – percentage of a suburb that is a public open space
  8. Tree cover- percentage of a suburb’s tree canopy cover
  9. Crime –  the number of offences per 100,00 resident population
  10. Education – the proximity to primary and secondary schools from the centre of a suburb
  11. Airport noise – only for Sydney and Brisbane
  12. Mobile and Broadband –  the quality and availability of mobile and broadband services
  13. Topography variation 
  14. Walkability – measures a suburb’s walkable access to employment, shops and or transport
  15. Traffic congestion – measure the difference in average trip time between peak and off-peak hours
  16. Coast proximity – measures the average straight line from a suburb’s centre to the closest coastline or beach
  17. Harbour and ocean views – the proportion of the suburb that has harbour, bay, or ocean views.

Access to ferries was also used as an additional indicator in Sydney and Brisbane and access to trams was measured in Melbourne. Also, for Brisbane and Sydney, airport noise was also considered, and for Sydney alone, harbour and ocean views.

The study revealed that higher-density suburbs are more likely to be liveable, particularly because older suburbs undergoing transformation may likely experience increased traffic congestion. The findings underscored the importance of a suburb’s ability to provide amenity for its residents to make it more liveable.