Airlie Beach vs Mandalay

In Airlie Beach, about half of households rent, most homes are flats or apartments, and most households are people living alone. In Mandalay, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Airlie Beach: a median of $1.38 million, against $720,000 in Mandalay. On these figures, Airlie Beach tends to suit renters, young adults, and people living alone, while Mandalay suits families with children and buyers on a tighter budget.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

Mandalay

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (89% vs 30%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (51% vs 23%)
  • carries lower crime risk (54/100 vs 95/100)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Mandalay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($720,000 vs $1,375,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Airlie Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (51% vs 28%)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Airlie Beach

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (34/100 vs 5/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (764 min vs 773 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (1112.7 km vs 1118.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Airlie Beach is more walkable (34/100 vs 5/100)
  • Mandalay carries lower crime risk (54/100 vs 95/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Airlie Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (8.6% vs 0.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Airlie Beach and Mandalay drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Walkability 34 / 5
Airlie Beach — Walkability: 34/100 Mandalay — Walkability: 5/100
Safety 5 / 46
Airlie Beach — Safety: 5/100 Mandalay — Safety: 46/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Airlie Beach — Low fire risk: 100/100 Mandalay — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Airlie Beach has more residents (1,312 vs 338).

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Population 1,312
+74% vs other
 338
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +8.6% +0.3%
Median age 41
same for both
Median household income $81,224/yr $81,900/yr
Median weekly rent $380/wk
same for both

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
0-4 1.8% / 10.1%
Airlie Beach — 0-4: 1.8% Mandalay — 0-4: 10.1%
5-14 4.0% / 9.8%
Airlie Beach — 5-14: 4.0% Mandalay — 5-14: 9.8%
15-19 2.0% / 4.7%
Airlie Beach — 15-19: 2.0% Mandalay — 15-19: 4.7%
20-24 7.8% / 3.8%
Airlie Beach — 20-24: 7.8% Mandalay — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 26.4% / 12.4%
Airlie Beach — 25-34: 26.4% Mandalay — 25-34: 12.4%
35-44 13.8% / 13.6%
Airlie Beach — 35-44: 13.8% Mandalay — 35-44: 13.6%
45-54 13.9% / 14.8%
Airlie Beach — 45-54: 13.9% Mandalay — 45-54: 14.8%
55-64 16.5% / 13.0%
Airlie Beach — 55-64: 16.5% Mandalay — 55-64: 13.0%
65-74 9.7% / 14.2%
Airlie Beach — 65-74: 9.7% Mandalay — 65-74: 14.2%
75-84 3.4% / 3.8%
Airlie Beach — 75-84: 3.4% Mandalay — 75-84: 3.8%
85+ 0.2% / 0.9%
Airlie Beach — 85+: 0.2% Mandalay — 85+: 0.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (26.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Airlie Beach 60.3% lone person
Airlie Beach — Lone Person: 60.3% Airlie Beach — Couple Families: 15.4% Airlie Beach — Group Household: 15.4% Airlie Beach — One Parent Families: 7.2% Airlie Beach — Other Families: 1.7%
Mandalay 36.8% lone person
Mandalay — Lone Person: 36.8% Mandalay — Couple Families: 43.4% Mandalay — Group Household: 11.8% Mandalay — One Parent Families: 7.9% Mandalay — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Airlie Beach 50.7% renting
Airlie Beach — Owned Outright: 31.0% Airlie Beach — Mortgage: 18.2% Airlie Beach — Renting: 50.7%
Mandalay 28.3% renting
Mandalay — Owned Outright: 36.8% Mandalay — Mortgage: 34.9% Mandalay — Renting: 28.3%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Certificate III & IV 17.7% / 18.0%
Airlie Beach — Certificate III & IV: 17.7% Mandalay — Certificate III & IV: 18.0%
Bachelor Degree 15.8% / 5.3%
Airlie Beach — Bachelor Degree: 15.8% Mandalay — Bachelor Degree: 5.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 11.0% / 8.6%
Airlie Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 11.0% Mandalay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6%
Postgraduate Degree 3.6% / 0.9%
Airlie Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 3.6% Mandalay — Postgraduate Degree: 0.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.2% / —
Airlie Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.2% Mandalay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.0%).

Where residents were born

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
New Zealand 5.3% / 3.3%
Airlie Beach — New Zealand: 5.3% Mandalay — New Zealand: 3.3%
England 6.9% / 1.5%
Airlie Beach — England: 6.9% Mandalay — England: 1.5%
Canada 0.9% / —
Airlie Beach — Canada: 0.9% Mandalay — Canada: not among its largest
Netherlands 0.9% / —
Airlie Beach — Netherlands: 0.9% Mandalay — Netherlands: not among its largest
South Africa — / 0.9%
Airlie Beach — South Africa: not among its largest Mandalay — South Africa: 0.9%
Italy — / 0.9%
Airlie Beach — Italy: not among its largest Mandalay — Italy: 0.9%
France — / 0.9%
Airlie Beach — France: not among its largest Mandalay — France: 0.9%
Germany 0.8% / —
Airlie Beach — Germany: 0.8% Mandalay — Germany: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.9%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Airlie Beach 30.0% houses
Airlie Beach — Houses: 30.0% Airlie Beach — Flats / Apartments: 57.4% Airlie Beach — Townhouses: 12.6%
Mandalay 88.7% houses
Mandalay — Houses: 88.7% Mandalay — Flats / Apartments: 11.3% Mandalay — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Median house price $1,375,000 $720,000
Median unit price $649,500 —
Median land price $454,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 34 days
from 10 sales
 56 days
from 5 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
3 bed $1.3M / $720K
Airlie Beach — 3 bed: $1.3M (8 sales) Mandalay — 3 bed: $720K (10 sales)

8 vs 10 sales

4 bed $1.55M / $965K
Airlie Beach — 4 bed: $1.55M (8 sales) Mandalay — 4 bed: $965K (5 sales)

8 vs 5 sales

Development activity

Airlie Beach Mandalay
New dwellings approved 190
across Whitsunday
same for both
Approvals change year on year +70%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Houses —
same for both
Units 5.7%
$728/wk on $670K
 —

Ranking within QLD

Airlie Beach Mandalay
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 53% of QLD
same for both
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 83% of QLD Higher than 69% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 50% of QLD
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 70% of QLD Higher than 73% of QLD
Rental yield (units) Higher than 84% of QLD —

Liveability

Airlie Beach is more walkable (34 vs 5).

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Grade C —
Score 38/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Airlie Beach carries more crime risk (95 vs 54).

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
95/100
 Moderate
54/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion Moderate
65/100
 Low
17/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Amenities in the suburb

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 33 0
Parks & reserves 1
same for both
Childcare 0 1
GPs 1 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Beaches 1 0
Waterways 6 1

Mobility

Mandalay sits further from the CBD (1118.4 km vs 1112.7 km).

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Walkability score 34/100 5/100
Distance to Brisbane 1112.7 km 1118.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 764 min 773 min
Public transport score 76/100
Bus
 41/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 28.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
 7.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 6.5 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 4802
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 56
postcode 4802
same for both

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Car (driver) 53.7% / 71.2%
Airlie Beach — Car (driver): 53.7% Mandalay — Car (driver): 71.2%
Worked from Home 14.6% / 14.4%
Airlie Beach — Worked from Home: 14.6% Mandalay — Worked from Home: 14.4%
Walked Only 24.8% / 2.5%
Airlie Beach — Walked Only: 24.8% Mandalay — Walked Only: 2.5%
Car (passenger) 5.5% / 8.5%
Airlie Beach — Car (passenger): 5.5% Mandalay — Car (passenger): 8.5%
Bus 1.4% / 3.4%
Airlie Beach — Bus: 1.4% Mandalay — Bus: 3.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (71.2%).

Setting

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Elevation 20 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 81 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 517 m
981 m to a named beach
 438 m
1.3 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Connectivity score 53/100 62/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 15%
1,495 premises
 41%
164 premises

Climate

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Annual rainfall 1,708 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Average residential rate $1,412/yr
same for both
Council Whitsunday
same for both

Federal electorate

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Division Dawson
same for both
Member Andrew Willcox
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Airlie Beach Mandalay
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Airlie Beach

Apartments Beach Cafe Culture Coastal Nightlife River

Mandalay

Acreage Beach Coastal Young Families

More comparisons

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Airlie Beach vs Cannonvale Airlie Beach vs Whitsundays Airlie Beach vs Jubilee Pocket

Other comparisons with Mandalay

Mandalay vs Whitsundays Mandalay vs Jubilee Pocket Mandalay vs Flametree
Full data on Airlie Beach Full data on Mandalay
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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