Browns Bay is on Auckland's North Shore, around 19 km north of the Auckland CBD. It's one of the East Coast Bays, sitting between Rothesay Bay (north) and Mairangi Bay (south), with Albany to the west.

When is the Browns Bay Market?

The Browns Bay Sunday Market runs every Sunday year-round, generally from 8am to 1pm, on the foreshore beside Browns Bay Beach. Around 200 stalls on a typical day. Free entry, parking on adjacent streets.

Is Browns Bay Beach safe for swimming?

Browns Bay Beach is generally safe and sheltered, popular with families. Surf Life Saving patrols operate over peak summer. The beach has a gentle slope and is calm in most weather conditions.

How do I get from the Auckland CBD to Browns Bay?

By car, around 25 to 35 minutes via SH1 and Constellation Drive off-peak. The Northern Busway Long Bay service stops at Browns Bay, taking around 50 minutes from the CBD.

What's the East Coast Bays?

The East Coast Bays is the strip of beach suburbs running along Auckland's North Shore east coast, including Browns Bay, Mairangi Bay, Murrays Bay, Rothesay Bay, Castor Bay and Long Bay. They share the East Coast Bays community board.

Which schools are in zone for Browns Bay?

Children living in Browns Bay are in zone for Browns Bay School, Northcross Intermediate, Long Bay College. Living in a school's home zone gives a guaranteed right to enrol.

How do I check my school zone in Browns Bay?

Use the School Zone Checker on this page — enter your address to check your school zone and see which schools you have a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Browns Bay, Auckland | Schools, Lifestyle & Local Guide

Living in Browns Bay

Browns Bay is one of the East Coast Bays on Auckland's North Shore, around 19 km north of the CBD. White-sand beach, sheltered swimming, a town centre running perpendicular to the water. It's the kind of beach suburb where you bump into your kid's teacher buying coffee on a Saturday and one of you pretends not to see the other.

The Sunday market on the foreshore (every Sunday morning, year-round) is the local event: around 200 stalls on a good day, the kind of friendly chaos where the same people have been selling honey from the same trestle table for fifteen years. Browns Bay Beach is the other draw - 800 metres of sand looking out to Rangitoto and the Hauraki Gulf, calm enough most days for confident swimming. The surf life saving club has been there since 1932.

The town centre has been quietly renovating itself through the 2010s and 2020s, with a Countdown, banks, the library and the regulation long line of takeaways and restaurants. Pak'nSave next door in Albany handles the bulk shop.

South of Browns Bay the East Coast Bays continue through Mairangi Bay, Murrays Bay, Rothesay Bay and Long Bay. Most locals know the order off by heart.

Is Browns Bay a good place to live?

Browns Bay is home to roughly 10,311 people. On Suburb's overall livability scale, Browns Bay scores 58 out of 100, with a safety score of 57/100 and 10% green space.

Schools: Browns Bay has 20 schools in or near the suburb, spanning early-childhood through to secondary education. See the Schools tab below for the full list.

Housing: The estimated median value is around $1.38M, and weekly rent typically sits around $600.

Lifestyle: Browns Bay has cafés, shops and things to do nearby. The current temperature is 11.4°C. See the Weather tab for monthly averages.

Whether Browns Bay is right for you depends on what you’re looking for. Use the data and community tips below to decide if it suits your lifestyle, family and budget.

Map

Livability Breakdown

Safety57
Amenities100
Schools91
Housing Affordability27
Green space33
Community44
Transport31

Property & Economics

Est. Median Value: $1.38M
Median Weekly Rent: $600/wk
Median HH Income: $99K/yr
Pop. Growth (5yr): +13.0%
Data Year: 2023

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

† Est. Median Value is suburb.co.nz's own estimate, modelled from available public data. We aim for accuracy, but where data is limited, estimates may be imprecise.

Nearby Suburbs

Browse all suburbs in Auckland →

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Browns Bay?: Browns Bay is on Auckland's North Shore, around 19 km north of the Auckland CBD. It's one of the East Coast Bays, sitting between Rothesay Bay (north) and Mairangi Bay (south), with Albany to the west.
When is the Browns Bay Market?: The Browns Bay Sunday Market runs every Sunday year-round, generally from 8am to 1pm, on the foreshore beside Browns Bay Beach. Around 200 stalls on a typical day. Free entry, parking on adjacent streets.
Is Browns Bay Beach safe for swimming?: Browns Bay Beach is generally safe and sheltered, popular with families. Surf Life Saving patrols operate over peak summer. The beach has a gentle slope and is calm in most weather conditions.
How do I get from the Auckland CBD to Browns Bay?: By car, around 25 to 35 minutes via SH1 and Constellation Drive off-peak. The Northern Busway Long Bay service stops at Browns Bay, taking around 50 minutes from the CBD.
What's the East Coast Bays?: The East Coast Bays is the strip of beach suburbs running along Auckland's North Shore east coast, including Browns Bay, Mairangi Bay, Murrays Bay, Rothesay Bay, Castor Bay and Long Bay. They share the East Coast Bays community board.

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Browns Bay

Schools in zone for Browns Bay

Children living in Browns Bay have a guaranteed right to enrol at these schools, based on Ministry of Education home zones.

Browns Bay School
Contributing · roll 610 · decile 10
Northcross Intermediate
Intermediate · roll 1502 · decile 9
Long Bay College
Secondary (Year 9-15) · roll 1959 · decile 10

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Enter your address to check your school zone in Browns Bay. School enrolment zones (home zones) decide which schools your child has a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Address matching is approximate and based on OpenStreetMap geocoding — confirm an exact result near a zone boundary directly with the school.

Other nearby schools

Schools close to Browns Bay that you may be able to enrol at under open enrolment or by application (outside your home zone).

Torbay School
Contributing · roll 569 · decile 9 · 1.1 km away
Sherwood School (Auckland)
Contributing · roll 460 · decile 10 · 1.2 km away
Glamorgan School
Contributing · roll 487 · decile 9 · 1.6 km away
Murrays Bay School
Contributing · roll 707 · decile 10 · 2.0 km away
City Impact Church School
Composite · roll 353 · 2.1 km away
Murrays Bay Intermediate
Intermediate · roll 1102 · decile 10 · 2.2 km away
Oteha Valley School
Contributing · roll 496 · decile 9 · 2.5 km away
Rangitoto College
Secondary (Year 9-15) · roll 4172 · decile 9 · 2.6 km away
St John's School (Mairangi Bay)
Contributing · roll 297 · decile 10 · 2.6 km away
Pinehill School (Browns Bay)
Contributing · roll 384 · decile 8 · 2.7 km away
Long Bay School
Contributing · roll 499 · decile 10 · 2.8 km away
Mairangi Bay School
Contributing · roll 441 · decile 9 · 3.3 km away
TKKM o Te Raki Paewhenua
Composite · roll 146 · decile 6 · 3.4 km away
Sunnynook School
Contributing · roll 495 · decile 8 · 4.2 km away
Pinehurst School
Composite · roll 1137 · decile 10 · 4.5 km away
Campbells Bay School
Contributing · roll 788 · decile 10 · 4.6 km away
Albany Senior High School
Secondary (Year 11-15) · roll 786 · decile 9 · 4.7 km away

Explore Browns Bay

Things to do(39)

Anytime Fitness

Snap Fitness

Jetts Fitness

Dance Expression

Browns Bay Beach Reserve

BFT Browns Bay

F45 Training

Swingz

Browns Bay

Browns Bay Racquets Club

Browns Bay Bowling Club

Snap Fitness 24/7 Browns Bay

Sherwood Reserve

Sherwood Playground

Chinook Gym - MMA

Saiga-12 Muay Thai

Anytime Fitness Browns Bay

Beachside Health and Fitness

NZ Iron Strength Gym

Level Up Tennis

Browns Bay Village Green

We Dance School

East Coast Bays Rugby League Club

Oliver MMA Browns Bay

Jetts 24/7 Fitness Browns Bay

East Coast Bays Leisure Centre

The Jungle Gym

Fox Studios

Bays School Of Dance

Sejong Taekwondo

Fushin Ryu Karate Dojo

GreggFit

Double Dot Squash

JKS Karate Club North Shore

No Surrender Gym

Jetts Browns Bay

ACTN3 Performance Athletes

Tennis Global

Bays Boxing

Parks & green spaces(5)

Browns Bay Beach Reserve

Browns Bay

Sherwood Reserve

Sherwood Playground

Browns Bay Village Green

Healthcare(9)

New Hope Chinese Medical Clinic

Life Pharmacy

OPSM

Bay Audiology Browns Bay

Awanui Labs

Browns Bay Medical Centre

Chiropractor Centre

Browns Bay Family Medical Care

Month	High (°C)	Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm/day)	Sunshine (hrs/day)
☀️ Jan	23.35	17.3	145.8	10.73
☀️ Feb	23.4	16.93	150.23	10.42
🍂 Mar	21.64	14.94	71.67	10.28
🍂 Apr	20	14.54	93.77	8.68
🍂 May	17.49	11.98	114.07	7.73
❄️ Jun	15.62	10.77	115.23	7.12
❄️ Jul	14.89	9.57	173.9	6.87
❄️ Aug	14.94	8.32	106.63	8.04
🌸 Sep	16.28	10.11	112.63	9.34
🌸 Oct	17.51	11.55	126.93	10.08
🌸 Nov	19.54	12.99	135.63	10.87
☀️ Dec	21.99	15.44	144.07	11.11

Living in Browns Bay

Is Browns Bay a good place to live?

Map

Livability Breakdown

Property & Economics

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

Nearby Suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Browns Bay

Schools in zone for Browns Bay

Browns Bay School

Northcross Intermediate

Long Bay College

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Other nearby schools

Torbay School

Sherwood School (Auckland)

Glamorgan School

Murrays Bay School

City Impact Church School

Murrays Bay Intermediate

Oteha Valley School

Rangitoto College

St John's School (Mairangi Bay)

Pinehill School (Browns Bay)

Long Bay School

Mairangi Bay School

TKKM o Te Raki Paewhenua

Sunnynook School

Pinehurst School

Campbells Bay School

Albany Senior High School

Explore Browns Bay

🎯Things to do(39)

Anytime Fitness

Snap Fitness

Jetts Fitness

Dance Expression

Browns Bay Beach Reserve

BFT Browns Bay

F45 Training

Swingz

Browns Bay

Browns Bay Racquets Club

Browns Bay Bowling Club

Snap Fitness 24/7 Browns Bay

Sherwood Reserve

Sherwood Playground

Chinook Gym - MMA

Saiga-12 Muay Thai

Anytime Fitness Browns Bay

Beachside Health and Fitness

NZ Iron Strength Gym

Level Up Tennis

Browns Bay Village Green

We Dance School

East Coast Bays Rugby League Club

Oliver MMA Browns Bay

Jetts 24/7 Fitness Browns Bay

East Coast Bays Leisure Centre

The Jungle Gym

Fox Studios

Bays School Of Dance

Sejong Taekwondo

Fushin Ryu Karate Dojo

GreggFit

Double Dot Squash

JKS Karate Club North Shore

No Surrender Gym

Jetts Browns Bay

ACTN3 Performance Athletes

Tennis Global

Bays Boxing

🌳Parks & green spaces(5)

Browns Bay Beach Reserve

Browns Bay

Sherwood Reserve

Sherwood Playground

Browns Bay Village Green

Things to do(39)

Parks & green spaces(5)

Healthcare(9)

Places to eat & drink(112)