Best Sunshine Coast suburbs for families with good high schools
Buderim tops the ranking: 1 of its 2 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 86 and 132 km of the Sunshine Coast CBD.
This ranking scores every eligible Sunshine Coast suburb on the share of secondary-school students at schools that outperform their ACARA peer group, adjusted for socio-economic advantage, walkability, and safety. Public and private results are ranked separately since the buyer decisions differ.
For each Sunshine Coast suburb we compute the share of high-school enrolments at schools rated above their ACARA peer group, blended with the ABS SEIFA socio-economic index, OpenStreetMap walkability, and a composite safety score. The share is Bayesian-smoothed so a suburb with two-of-two above-peer schools can't leapfrog a suburb with eight-of-ten. A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice — families weighing multiple secondary options value optionality that a single-school suburb can't deliver.
Best Sunshine Coast suburbs for good public high schools
Public/government-sector secondary schools — includes standalone secondaries and the secondary component of K-12 government schools within the suburb boundary.
Burnside
QLD 4560 · 3,104 residents0/2 above peer schools · mid-range socio-economic · somewhat walkable
Palmview
QLD 4553 · 5,236 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · car-dependent
Ranked from 2 qualifying suburbs.
Best Sunshine Coast suburbs for good private high schools
Catholic and independent secondary schools — includes standalone secondaries and the secondary component of K-12 combined schools.
Buderim
QLD 4556 · 31,430 residents1/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · walkable
Maroochydore
QLD 4558 · 20,629 residents0/2 above peer schools · mid-range socio-economic · very walkable
Mountain Creek
QLD 4557 · 11,950 residents0/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · somewhat walkable
Nambour
QLD 4560 · 12,145 residents0/2 above peer schools · below-average income · very walkable
Caloundra
QLD 4551 · 3,932 residents0/2 above peer schools · below-average income · very walkable
Woombye
QLD 4559 · 3,944 residents0/2 above peer schools · mid-range socio-economic · car-dependent
Forest Glen
QLD 4556 · 1,657 residents0/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · car-dependent
Noosaville
QLD 4566 · 8,716 residents1/2 above peer schools · advantaged area · very car-dependent
Ranked from 8 qualifying suburbs.
40% share of schools above their peer group · 20% socio-economic advantage (SEIFA) · 25% walkability · 15% safety (bushfire, crime, flood risks combined). Plus a small volume bonus rewarding suburbs offering more school choice. See how we calculate for the full methodology.
Common questions about this ranking
What are the best Sunshine Coast suburbs for families with good high schools?
Buderim tops the ranking: 1 of its 2 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 86 and 132 km of the Sunshine Coast CBD.
How is this ranking scored?
Each eligible Sunshine Coast suburb is scored on four factors: 40% share of schools rated above their ACARA peer group (Bayesian-smoothed so a tiny suburb with 2/2 can't outrank a suburb with 8/10), 20% ABS SEIFA socio-economic advantage, 25% OpenStreetMap-derived walkability, and 15% safety (bushfire, crime and flood risks combined). A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice.
Why are public and private schools ranked separately?
Buyer decisions differ: parents choosing between government-sector primary schools weigh very different factors from parents choosing between Catholic and independent schools. Blending the two hides the signal a reader is actually looking for, so we publish both lists on the same page.
Which suburbs are eligible for the ranking?
To appear on the list, a suburb needs at least 2 qualifying schools inside its boundary and a resident population of at least 500. Suburbs that fall below either threshold are excluded — not penalised — so the ranking isn't dominated by tiny, high-signal outliers.
How often is this list updated?
The top 15 is recomputed automatically after each ACARA schools data refresh, so the ranking reflects the most recent published NAPLAN-adjusted peer comparisons. See the footer of this page for the last computed date.
Same list in other cities
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Related
Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.
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