Ambrose vs Machine Creek
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Machine Creek, most households are couple families. On these figures, Machine Creek tends to suit couples.
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
Ambrose
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 74/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Ambrose has cheaper rent ($165/wk vs $200/wk)
- Machine Creek leaves renters under less rental stress (10% vs 17%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Machine Creek
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (386 min vs 391 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (560.7 km vs 567.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Ambrose
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 74/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Machine Creek
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (9.2% vs -0.5%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Ambrose and Machine Creek drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Machine Creek has higher household incomes ($98,748 vs $50,804); Ambrose has more residents (217 vs 131).
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 217 +40% vs other | 131 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -0.5% | +9.2% |
| Median age | 43 | 42 |
| Median household income | $50,804/yr | $98,748/yr +94% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $165/wk | $200/wk +21% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.3%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $552,750 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Development activity
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 274 across Gladstone same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +132% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 14% of QLD | Higher than 73% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 35% of QLD | Higher than 29% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 34% of QLD same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 33% of QLD | Higher than 39% of QLD |
Liveability
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
Machine Creek carries more crime risk (74 vs 16).
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 16/100 | High 74/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Ambrose
- Ambrose State School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Machine Creek
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 4 | 2 |
Mobility
Ambrose sits further from the CBD (567.3 km vs 560.7 km).
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Brisbane | 567.3 km +1% vs other | 560.7 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 391 min | 386 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 4695 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 72 postcode 4695 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (100.0%).
Setting
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 98 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 56 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 15.0 km | 16.7 km |
NBN connectivity
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 25/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 88 premises | 0% 53 premises |
Climate
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 851 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 31.8°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 14.5°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.0 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 12.6 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.32 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,358/yr same for both | |
| Council | Gladstone same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Flynn same for both | |
| Member | Colin Boyce same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Ambrose | Machine Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Ambrose
Other comparisons with Machine Creek
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.