How does Best Schools rank suburbs?

It ranks suburbs by the average ICSEA of their schools, using ACARA school data. Suburbs need at least two schools to be included, so a single high-scoring school does not dominate the list.

What is ICSEA, and does a high score mean better teaching?

ICSEA is the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage. A higher score reflects a more socio-educationally advantaged school community — it is a context measure, not a direct rating of teaching quality or results.

Which states are included?

All states and territories with processed ACARA school data are included. Coverage depends on how many schools are matched to each suburb.

What should I do after opening this ranking?

Use the ranking as a screening step for QLD. Save realistic suburbs to your shortlist, compare the strongest two or three, then use suburb detail pages or the calculator to test the final candidate. On each suburb page you can also see individual schools and which ones operate a published enrolment zone.

← Best Schools

Ranking · QLD · 50 suburbs

Best Schools — QLD

Top 50 suburbs by average school ICSEA (higher = more socio-educationally advantaged community, min 2 schools) in QLD.

Leading suburb

BardonQLD

Leading value

1173

Runner-up

ToowongQLD

Updated

31 May 2026

Ranking

Best Schools

Top 50 suburbs by average school ICSEA (higher = more socio-educationally advantaged community, min 2 schools) — QLD

50 results

All NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT

How to read this ranking

Use best schools as a shortlist tool, then verify the finalists in detail.

BEST FOR

Finding which areas deserve a closer look first.

This ranking works best as a first-pass screen in QLD, especially when you need to reduce a wide field quickly.

READ IT AS

One signal in the workflow, not the whole answer.

A rank is useful because it compresses one dimension well, but it never replaces the fuller suburb-level picture.

NEXT STEP

Move into compare or suburb detail once a few names repeat.

Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then confirm whether those finalists still hold up on the rest of the data.

Intent pathway · LIVABILITY-LED

I want safer or higher-quality local context.

Start with area-level safety or school screens, then use suburb pages for services and evidence depth.

Crime, schools, and demographics are area-level signals; verify the suburb page before treating them as local proof.

OPEN SCHOOLS RANKING Reset to intent start

AVAILABLE evidence

Direct source-backed screen

This list ranks suburbs by average school ICSEA from ACARA, a community socio-educational advantage index rather than a teaching-quality measure. Use it to shortlist, then check individual schools and zones on suburb detail.

LIVABILITY-LED

Top candidates are local-quality ideas.

Use compare to test whether the livability signal still works once rent and income are included.

Shortlist flow

Use #1 Bardon and #2 Toowong as the first compare pair.

Rankings are strongest when they hand you a shortlist quickly. Compare the top two first, then open suburb detail if the head-to-head result still feels narrow.

Compare top 2Open #1 detail Open #2 detail

# ▲	SUBURB	STATE	AVG ICSEA	SCHOOLS
1	Bardon	QLD	1173	4	10,153
2	Toowong	QLD	1162	6	12,556
3	Ashgrove	QLD	1156	5	13,450
4	Clayfield	QLD	1150	4	10,897
5	Newmarket	QLD	1150	2	5,083
6	Indooroopilly	QLD	1149	6	13,622
7	Ascot	QLD	1148	2	6,531
8	South Brisbane	QLD	1147	4	14,292
9	Graceville	QLD	1142	2	4,764
10	Kenmore	QLD	1141	4	9,675
11	Bulimba	QLD	1140	2	7,623
12	Kelvin Grove	QLD	1140	3	7,909
13	Tarragindi	QLD	1140	2	11,035
14	Enoggera	QLD	1135	3	5,849
15	Pullenvale	QLD	1132	2	3,276
16	The Gap	QLD	1132	5	17,318
17	Dutton Park	QLD	1131	3	2,134
18	Wooloowin	QLD	1129	2	4,029
19	Fig Tree Pocket	QLD	1127	3	4,345
20	Middle Park	QLD	1126	2	3,845
21	New Farm	QLD	1125	2	12,197
22	Buderim	QLD	1124	3	31,430
23	East Brisbane	QLD	1124	2	6,186
24	Windsor	QLD	1120	2	7,811
25	Forest Glen	QLD	1118	2	1,657
26	Wishart	QLD	1117	2	11,333
27	Corinda	QLD	1115	4	5,555
28	Kedron	QLD	1113	5	9,907
29	Cannon Hill	QLD	1112	3	6,701
30	Carrara	QLD	1112	2	13,138
31	Carindale	QLD	1110	3	16,535
32	Shorncliffe	QLD	1107	2	1,907
33	Ormiston	QLD	1103	2	6,379
34	Camp Hill	QLD	1102	3	12,254
35	Mansfield	QLD	1101	3	8,851
36	Peregian Springs	QLD	1101	2	9,532
37	Spring Hill	QLD	1100	3	6,593
38	Mount Gravatt	QLD	1096	4	3,733
39	Rochedale	QLD	1093	4	7,633
40	Bald Hills	QLD	1092	2	7,000
41	Tallebudgera	QLD	1089	2	3,826
42	Carina	QLD	1088	3	11,678
43	Coorparoo	QLD	1088	8	18,132
44	Salisbury	QLD	1087	3	6,790
45	Fortitude Valley	QLD	1086	4	9,708
46	Holland Park	QLD	1086	4	8,671
47	Nundah	QLD	1086	4	13,098
48	Sunnybank Hills	QLD	1086	2	18,085
49	Everton Park	QLD	1084	4	10,111
50	Yeronga	QLD	1083	3	7,062

FAQ

Australian best schools FAQ

How does Best Schools rank suburbs?

It ranks suburbs by the average ICSEA of their schools, using ACARA school data. Suburbs need at least two schools to be included, so a single high-scoring school does not dominate the list.
What is ICSEA, and does a high score mean better teaching?

ICSEA is the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage. A higher score reflects a more socio-educationally advantaged school community — it is a context measure, not a direct rating of teaching quality or results.
Which states are included?

All states and territories with processed ACARA school data are included. Coverage depends on how many schools are matched to each suburb.
What should I do after opening this ranking?

Use the ranking as a screening step for QLD. Save realistic suburbs to your shortlist, compare the strongest two or three, then use suburb detail pages or the calculator to test the final candidate. On each suburb page you can also see individual schools and which ones operate a published enrolment zone.