Once you've decided to buy on the Gold Coast, the next question is which suburb. Suburb-level crime data is one of the most practical filters - it tracks closely with owner-occupier rates, insurance premiums and long-term capital growth. Using the latest Queensland Police data compiled by RedSuburbs, we've ranked every Gold Coast suburb with a population of 1,000 or more from safest to highest crime.
How we ranked them
RedSuburbs scores every Queensland suburb on a severity-weighted crime index where a lower number means safer. The score blends both the volume and the seriousness of offences, so a suburb with a handful of serious crimes can rank above one with many minor offences. To keep the comparison meaningful we've filtered out suburbs with fewer than 1,000 residents - in very small suburbs a single incident can swing the rate dramatically. That leaves 61 Gold Coast suburbs in the table below.
The Gold Coast in context
The Gold Coast LGA as a whole records around 84.92 offences per 1,000 residents - just below the Queensland state average of 88.73. That citywide figure masks significant variation between suburbs. 34 of the 61 suburbs below sit in Queensland's safest 10% tier (rank 10), placing them on par with the state's quietest regional and outer-metro areas. (Source: RedSuburbs - Gold Coast Crime Data, 2024)
All Gold Coast suburbs by safety rank
Suburbs sorted by RedSuburbs rank ascending (lower = safer); within the same rank, by population descending. Population figures are from the most recent census-derived data shown on RedSuburbs.
| Suburb | Rank | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Coomera | 10 | 27,180 |
| Pacific Pines | 10 | 16,664 |
| Varsity Lakes | 10 | 16,493 |
| Ormeau | 10 | 15,938 |
| Mudgeeraba | 10 | 14,578 |
| Burleigh Waters | 10 | 14,556 |
| Hope Island | 10 | 14,522 |
| Mermaid Waters | 10 | 13,088 |
| Elanora | 10 | 12,539 |
| Coombabah | 10 | 10,298 |
| Benowa | 10 | 9,889 |
| Currumbin Waters | 10 | 9,797 |
| Parkwood | 10 | 8,837 |
| Maudsland | 10 | 8,073 |
| Reedy Creek | 10 | 7,412 |
| Merrimac | 10 | 7,212 |
| Tugun | 10 | 7,175 |
| Highland Park | 10 | 6,576 |
| Worongary | 10 | 6,021 |
| Bonogin | 10 | 4,896 |
| Ormeau Hills | 10 | 4,521 |
| Tallai | 10 | 4,465 |
| Clear Island Waters | 10 | 4,395 |
| Tallebudgera | 10 | 3,826 |
| Currumbin | 10 | 3,278 |
| Hollywell | 10 | 2,930 |
| Jacobs Well | 10 | 2,882 |
| Gilston | 10 | 2,669 |
| Willow Vale | 10 | 2,279 |
| Currumbin Valley | 10 | 2,084 |
| Tallebudgera Valley | 10 | 1,762 |
| Wongawallan | 10 | 1,415 |
| Mount Nathan | 10 | 1,375 |
| Lower Beechmont | 10 | 1,067 |
| Palm Beach | 11 | 16,349 |
| Carrara | 11 | 13,138 |
| Ashmore | 11 | 12,415 |
| Oxenford | 11 | 12,273 |
| Arundel | 11 | 11,171 |
| Runaway Bay | 11 | 9,308 |
| Paradise Point | 11 | 7,062 |
| Robina | 12 | 25,659 |
| Pimpama | 13 | 24,601 |
| Mermaid Beach | 13 | 7,329 |
| Gaven | 13 | 1,638 |
| Helensvale | 14 | 18,949 |
| Bundall | 14 | 4,895 |
| Nerang | 17 | 17,048 |
| Coomera | 18 | 20,225 |
| Biggera Waters | 18 | 9,973 |
| Miami | 18 | 7,445 |
| Molendinar | 18 | 6,450 |
| Labrador | 20 | 18,643 |
| Burleigh Heads | 20 | 10,572 |
| Broadbeach Waters | 21 | 8,164 |
| Main Beach | 24 | 3,998 |
| Coolangatta | 27 | 6,491 |
| Bilinga | 29 | 1,883 |
| Southport | 31 | 36,786 |
| Yatala | 32 | 1,405 |
| Surfers Paradise | 37 | 26,412 |
| Broadbeach | 49 | 6,786 |
What stands out
The safe majority
Most of the Gold Coast is, by Queensland standards, safe. Established residential suburbs - Mudgeeraba, Burleigh Waters, Mermaid Waters, Hope Island, Elanora, Coombabah, Pacific Pines, Upper Coomera, Ormeau - all sit in the rank-10 tier alongside Queensland's quietest regional towns.
Master-planned communities perform well
Newer master-planned suburbs popular with families - Pacific Pines, Upper Coomera, Ormeau, Ormeau Hills - all rank in the safest tier, while Pimpama (rank 13) and Coomera (rank 18) sit just behind. Modern street planning, owner-occupier-heavy demographics and family-oriented infrastructure all support low crime.
Hinterland and lifestyle suburbs rank highest
Suburbs in the southern hinterland - Currumbin Valley, Tallai, Tallebudgera, Tallebudgera Valley, Worongary, Mudgeeraba, Bonogin - score very low for crime. These tend to combine acreage living, retiree demographics and tight community networks, the same factors that drive Queensland's outback shires to the top of the state-wide safety rankings.
Tourist and entertainment precincts: read the numbers carefully
Tourist-heavy suburbs record higher offence rates per resident:
- Surfers Paradise (rank 37, population 26,412)
- Broadbeach (rank 49, population 6,786)
- Main Beach (rank 24, population 3,998)
- Coolangatta (rank 27, population 6,491)
The methodology counts only resident populations, not the millions of visitors these suburbs host each year. Once normalised against actual day-to-day population (residents plus visitors), these areas are typically much safer for residents than the raw numbers suggest. They also concentrate the city's licensed venues and night-life economy, which inflates offence counts per resident even when absolute incident numbers are modest.
Southport: the city's commercial hub
Southport (rank 31, population 36,786) is the largest suburb on the Gold Coast and home to the city's main hospital, government services, the Broadwater Parklands and a major commercial precinct. Its higher rank reflects the same dynamic as the tourist suburbs - daytime population vastly exceeds resident population - rather than residential streets being unsafe.
What this means for Gold Coast property buyers
Crime data is one of several inputs worth considering when narrowing your suburb search, alongside school catchments, transport, lifestyle and price. A few observations from the data:
- For families wanting modern infrastructure: Pacific Pines, Upper Coomera and Ormeau Hills combine rank-10 safety with master-planned amenities and good schools.
- For lifestyle and acreage buyers: the hinterland - Mudgeeraba, Worongary, Tallai, Tallebudgera Valley - offers space, privacy and very low crime.
- For investors focused on stable owner-occupier demand, larger rank-10 suburbs like Burleigh Waters, Mudgeeraba, Mermaid Waters and Hope Island have deep rental and resale markets.
- For coastal lifestyle without the tourist density: Currumbin Waters, Tugun, Palm Beach (rank 11) and Mermaid Waters are well-positioned.
If you're looking to buy on the Gold Coast and want help thinking through how a specific suburb fits your borrowing strategy, get in touch with our team. We work with first-home buyers, families, investors and retirees across the city.
Data source: RedSuburbs - Gold Coast suburbs (based on Queensland Police Service statistics, most recent reporting period). Suburbs with a population under 1,000 have been excluded from the comparison. All figures correct as at the date of this article.