Currumbin Waters Liveability Snapshot
Currumbin suburb Map
Currumbin Waters, at a glance
Position, southern Gold Coast, inland from Currumbin Beach, centred around Currumbin Creek and lake systems, bordering Elanora and close to Tugun.
Distance to Brisbane, approximately a 1 hour 30 minute drive, traffic dependent.
Commute to Gold Coast Airport, approximately 10 to 15 minutes, traffic dependent.
Vibe, quiet creekside and lakeside residential living, family-oriented, more suburban and less visitor-focused than beachside Currumbin.
Best for, buyers who want southern Gold Coast lifestyle access with more house stock, quieter streets, and practical day-to-day living.
Day-to-day, school runs, parks and sports, creek walks, easy access to beaches, cafés, and the airport corridor.
Walkability, moderate around local shops, schools, and creek corridors, more car-based away from these pockets.
Transport, car first, bus routes through the southern corridor, cycling paths in parts of the coastal network, rail connection via Varsity Lakes station by car.
Schools, catchment dependent, address must be checked via EdMap.
Hazards, property specific, always check overlays and insurance early, particularly near waterways and low-lying areas.
Population size, 9,795 people
Median age, 42 years
Tenure in occupied private dwellings
Owned outright, 34.3%
Owned with a mortgage, 41.1%
Rented, 21.7%
Other, 1.3%
If you want the investor view as well, including how the house, unit and duplex market behaves and what drives price movement in different Currumbin Waters pockets, email me and I can give you a quick, plain-English summary tailored to your budget and property type.
If you are moving over from NZ, start here, at my Moving from NZ hub, with checklists, early admin steps, and Gold Coast suburb guidance.
Overview
Currumbin Waters sits on the southern Gold Coast, built around Currumbin Creek, connected lakes, and established residential streets. It is predominantly low-rise and house-led, with neighbourhoods that feel suburban and family-oriented rather than tourism-driven.
Compared with beachside Currumbin, Currumbin Waters generally offers a quieter day-to-day environment while still being close to the coast, the airport corridor, and southern Gold Coast lifestyle amenities.
Who Currumbin Waters suits best
Currumbin Waters suits buyers who want southern Gold Coast access with practical family living. It is often chosen by families prioritising schools, parks, and space, as well as downsizers who prefer a residential setting with less visitor traffic.
It can also suit buyers who like the Currumbin lifestyle but want more housing choice and a less tightly held beachside market.
Why choose Currumbin Waters
Buyers often choose Currumbin Waters for its balance of lifestyle access and everyday practicality. The suburb offers proximity to beaches, the creek, and the airport, while maintaining a quieter residential character.
It provides a broader mix of housing options than the beachfront strip, which can be appealing for buyers needing flexibility on block size, layout, or budget.
Housing and streetscape feel
Currumbin Waters is primarily house-based, with a mix of older brick homes, renovated family houses, and newer builds across established and estate-style streets. Townhouse and unit pockets exist, generally closer to main roads, local centres, or higher-density edges.
Overall, the built form is low-rise and residential, with the suburb reading as a classic southern Gold Coast family area rather than a visitor or nightlife precinct.
Pocket differences that matter
Currumbin Waters includes distinct micro-areas shaped by proximity to Currumbin Creek, the lakes system, schools, and main road corridors. Quieter internal residential streets can feel very different from edges closer to busier roads, local centres, or higher-traffic routes, even within the same suburb boundary.
Suburb-wide statistics can be misleading here, so buyers are best to shortlist by pocket early and then validate street-level noise, traffic flow, and day-to-day feel before committing.
Getting around and commute reality
Most residents rely on cars for work, school runs, and larger shopping trips. Bus routes service the southern corridor, and cycling is common for local routines where paths connect well.
For rail commuters, Varsity Lakes is typically the closest major station and is accessed by a short drive.
Schools and education
School zoning in Queensland is address-based, not suburb-based. Eligibility depends on the exact property address and enrolment year, and EdMap should always be checked.
Primary schools your Currumbin Waters address may be zoned for:
Currumbin State School
Palm Beach State School
Elanora State School
Currumbin Valley State School
Tallebudgera State School
Secondary schools your Currumbin Waters address may be zoned for:
Palm Beach – Currumbin State High School
Elanora State High School
Nearby non-state schooling options
Currumbin Waters also has access to nearby independent and Catholic schools. Enrolment is typically based on application, year-level intake, and school policies rather than state catchment zoning.
Catholic options nearby:
St Augustine’s Parish Primary School, Currumbin Waters
Marymount Primary School, Burleigh Waters
Marymount College, Burleigh Waters
Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary School, North Palm Beach
Independent options nearby:
St Andrew’s Lutheran College, Tallebudgera
Hillcrest Christian College, Reedy Creek
King’s Christian College, Reedy Creek
Somerset College, Mudgeeraba
When researching schools online, you will often see mixed reviews. That is common in larger or centrally located catchments with diverse student populations. Online commentary usually reflects individual experiences rather than the overall day-to-day environment. Visiting the school, understanding catchment rules, and considering your child’s specific needs will give you far more useful insight than review sites alone.
If you are relocating with kids and want help shortlisting schools and aligning catchments with your housing search, I offer a Family Relocation Concierge option; details are on my services page.
Parks, sports and lifestyle amenities
Currumbin Waters’ lifestyle infrastructure centres on Currumbin Creek, lakeside walking paths, local parks, and open space that supports regular outdoor routines such as walking, cycling, and casual recreation.
Broader sporting facilities, beaches, and coastal walking paths are easily accessed in neighbouring suburbs, making Currumbin Waters practical for everyday living while still close to southern Gold Coast lifestyle amenities.
Convenience and day-to-day essentials
Day-to-day convenience is strong, with local shopping, schools, childcare, and services spread throughout and around the suburb. For major retail, specialist medical, and larger service needs, residents typically travel short distances to nearby centres.
The suburb functions well for practical living, though most households still rely on a car for larger errands and appointments.
Dining and cafés
Currumbin Waters itself is more residential than hospitality-led, but it sits close to strong café and casual dining pockets in Currumbin, Palm Beach, and Tugun.
In practice, residents have a wide range of options within a short drive, without living in the centre of a late-night or tourist-focused precinct.
Shopping and everyday services
Shopping is practical rather than destination-style. Locals typically use a mix of nearby convenience centres and larger hubs in surrounding suburbs for supermarkets, services, and appointments.
Community profile
Currumbin Waters tends to feel stable and family-oriented, with a mix of long-term locals and newer arrivals drawn by schooling options, outdoor lifestyle, and the southern Gold Coast location.
Compared with tourism-facing suburbs, it has less visitor churn and a more consistent day-to-day residential rhythm.
Crime and safety, relative to the Gold Coast
Currumbin Waters is not a major activity or entertainment centre, so reported offence volumes are lower than those seen in high-foot-traffic suburbs. Based on 2024 data, Currumbin Waters’ crime rate per capita sits below both Queensland and Australia overall, with property offences still the dominant category, which is typical across most suburbs.
Headline figures (2024)
Crime rank – 34/100
A higher score indicates higher overall crime relative to populationTotal offences – approximately 780
Crimes per 1,000 residents – approximately 40
Queensland – higher
Australia – higherViolent crimes – approximately 55 total
Violent crime rate – approximately 2.8 per 1,000 residents
Queensland – ~8 per 1,000
Australia – ~11 per 1,000Property crimes – approximately 460 total
Property crime rate – approximately 24 per 1,000 residents
Most reported offence groups:
Offences in Currumbin Waters skew towards property and opportunistic incidents rather than nighttime or alcohol-related activity. Some concentration occurs near busier corridors and retail edges rather than quiet internal residential streets.
Top reported offence categories in 2024
Theft - 204 offences
Drug dealing and trafficking - 42 offences
Assault and related offences - 23 offences
Likelihood of being affected:
Chance of being a victim of violent crime – approximately 1 in 390
Queensland – 1 in 123
Australia – 1 in 89Chance of being a victim of property crime – approximately 1 in 33
Queensland – 1 in 22
Australia – 1 in 26
Trend direction:
Total crime in Currumbin Waters increased by 25.14% from 2023 to 2024.
Long-term trends show generally lower offence volumes typical of residential suburbs, with year-to-year changes more noticeable due to a smaller base number of total offences rather than sustained high-activity drivers.
Bottom line: Currumbin Waters has a lower crime profile than major activity centers on the Gold Coast, but pocket selection still matters. For buyers and renters, the practical takeaway is to prioritise quieter internal streets and good property security and to use street-level tools to check the immediate area around any shortlisted address.
Data source: RedSuburbs, 2024. Based on Queensland Police Service offence data and ABS Census population figures. For street-level detail by offence type and time period, the Queensland Police Online Crime Map allows address-specific filtering.
Socioeconomic context, SEIFA
SEIFA provides area-level context rather than insight into individual households. A lower score indicates greater relative disadvantage, and a higher score indicates less disadvantage.
For Currumbin Waters (SA2 Currumbin Waters), the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage score is approximately 1,025, placing it around decile 6 out of 10 nationally.
Plain English takeaway: Currumbin Waters trends around moderate relative advantage overall, but lived experience still varies by pocket, housing type, and proximity to busier corridors.
Price and rental context
Currumbin Waters is house-led, with smaller unit and townhouse pockets. Because the suburb includes a mix of family homes and lifestyle-oriented properties, medians can move depending on which pockets transact most in a given year.
Median house price – approximately $1.45m
Median unit price – approximately $885k
Median 4 bedroom house rent – approximately $1,100 per week
Median unit rent – approximately $750 per week
Medians sourced from realestate.com.au, for 12 months to December 2025.
Plain English takeaway: Currumbin Waters medians are useful for broad orientation, but pocket, land size, water proximity, and traffic exposure can shift value materially either side of the suburb median.
Flood, bushfire and natural hazard considerations
Currumbin Waters includes areas influenced by Currumbin Creek and low-lying conditions near waterways and lakes, so flood overlays may apply to some properties. Other overlays, including bushfire mapping, are property specific.
Insurance premiums can vary materially by address, so it is worth getting an insurance quote early.
Quick take: pros and trade-offs
Pros: southern Gold Coast location, strong family amenity, creek and park access, airport proximity, largely low-rise residential character, practical day-to-day living.
Trade-offs: pocket-to-pocket variability, traffic impacts nearer busier corridors, flood overlays in some low-lying areas, suburb-wide medians can be less representative for specific pockets.
Helpful links
These tools are address-specific, so always check the exact property before relying on suburb-wide assumptions.
School catchments, EdMap
Queensland Police crime map RedSuburb crime statistics Median sale and rental pricing realestate.com.au ABS SEIFA index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage at SA2 level City of Gold Coast flood planning map
FloodCheck Queensland
City of Gold Coast bushfire overlay mapping
Helpful note
Currumbin Waters is a suburb where the difference between a quieter internal pocket and an edge closer to busier corridors can be material. Shortlist by pocket early, then validate schools, overlays, and street feel against how you want to live day to day.
If you want, I am happy to sanity-check a specific street, school catchment, or property against how you want to live day to day - Lets Talk
