Baringa vs Caloundra West

Baringa is the younger of the two, with a median age of 29 against 37 in Caloundra West. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Baringa, most households are couple families. In Caloundra West, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Baringa tends to suit young adults, families with children, and couples, while Caloundra West suits people living alone.

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

Caloundra West

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (7 vs 1)
  • carries lower crime risk (42/100 vs 63/100)
  • But Baringa is already more of a family suburb (78% vs 64%)

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

First-home buyers

Baringa

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 27%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Baringa

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (43% vs 33%)
  • leaves renters under less rental stress (24% vs 30%)

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

Commuting to the city

Baringa

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (66/100 vs 40/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (81.8 km vs 84.5 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Caloundra West

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (18% vs 5%)
  • carries lower crime risk (42/100 vs 63/100)
  • But Baringa is more walkable (66/100 vs 40/100)

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

Investors

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Baringa is growing faster (4797.9% vs 15.5%)
  • Caloundra West returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.5% vs 3.8%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Baringa Caloundra West
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.

Baringa Caloundra West
Walkability 66 / 40
Baringa — Walkability: 66/100 Caloundra West — Walkability: 40/100
Safety 37 / 58
Baringa — Safety: 37/100 Caloundra West — Safety: 58/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Baringa — Low fire risk: 100/100 Caloundra West — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Caloundra West has more residents (7,270 vs 4,604); Baringa has higher household incomes ($106,600 vs $81,692).

Baringa Caloundra West
Population 4,604 7,270
+58% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +4797.9% +15.5%
Median age 29 37
Median household income $106,600/yr
+23% vs other
 $81,692/yr
Median weekly rent $485/wk
+4% vs other
 $465/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Baringa Caloundra West
0-4 10.6% / 6.8%
Baringa — 0-4: 10.6% Caloundra West — 0-4: 6.8%
5-14 17.9% / 15.8%
Baringa — 5-14: 17.9% Caloundra West — 5-14: 15.8%
15-19 5.0% / 6.0%
Baringa — 15-19: 5.0% Caloundra West — 15-19: 6.0%
20-24 5.9% / 5.0%
Baringa — 20-24: 5.9% Caloundra West — 20-24: 5.0%
25-34 21.7% / 12.4%
Baringa — 25-34: 21.7% Caloundra West — 25-34: 12.4%
35-44 18.1% / 15.0%
Baringa — 35-44: 18.1% Caloundra West — 35-44: 15.0%
45-54 9.4% / 11.6%
Baringa — 45-54: 9.4% Caloundra West — 45-54: 11.6%
55-64 6.6% / 9.4%
Baringa — 55-64: 6.6% Caloundra West — 55-64: 9.4%
65-74 3.5% / 9.6%
Baringa — 65-74: 3.5% Caloundra West — 65-74: 9.6%
75-84 1.1% / 6.5%
Baringa — 75-84: 1.1% Caloundra West — 75-84: 6.5%
85+ 0.2% / 1.8%
Baringa — 85+: 0.2% Caloundra West — 85+: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Baringa 57.3% couple families
Baringa — Couple Families: 57.3% Baringa — Lone Person: 16.1% Baringa — One Parent Families: 20.3% Baringa — Group Household: 4.6% Baringa — Other Families: 1.6%
Caloundra West 45.0% couple families
Caloundra West — Couple Families: 45.0% Caloundra West — Lone Person: 30.5% Caloundra West — One Parent Families: 19.2% Caloundra West — Group Household: 4.1% Caloundra West — Other Families: 1.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Baringa 42.8% renting
Baringa — Owned Outright: 11.5% Baringa — Mortgage: 45.7% Baringa — Renting: 42.8%
Caloundra West 32.8% renting
Caloundra West — Owned Outright: 29.6% Caloundra West — Mortgage: 37.6% Caloundra West — Renting: 32.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Baringa Caloundra West
Certificate III & IV 17.8% / 18.8%
Baringa — Certificate III & IV: 17.8% Caloundra West — Certificate III & IV: 18.8%
Bachelor Degree 10.9% / 9.1%
Baringa — Bachelor Degree: 10.9% Caloundra West — Bachelor Degree: 9.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.9% / 8.5%
Baringa — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.9% Caloundra West — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5%
Postgraduate Degree 3.2% / 1.9%
Baringa — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2% Caloundra West — Postgraduate Degree: 1.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.3% / 1.5%
Baringa — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.3% Caloundra West — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).

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.

Baringa Caloundra West
England 5.8% / 6.0%
Baringa — England: 5.8% Caloundra West — England: 6.0%
New Zealand 5.8% / 5.8%
Baringa — New Zealand: 5.8% Caloundra West — New Zealand: 5.8%
India 3.8% / 1.1%
Baringa — India: 3.8% Caloundra West — India: 1.1%
South Africa 1.4% / 0.9%
Baringa — South Africa: 1.4% Caloundra West — South Africa: 0.9%
Scotland 0.8% / 0.6%
Baringa — Scotland: 0.8% Caloundra West — Scotland: 0.6%
Nepal 1.0% / —
Baringa — Nepal: 1.0% Caloundra West — Nepal: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Baringa 83.0% houses
Baringa — Houses: 83.0% Baringa — Townhouses: 16.4% Baringa — Flats / Apartments: 0.6%
Caloundra West 83.2% houses
Caloundra West — Houses: 83.2% Caloundra West — Townhouses: 16.6% Caloundra West — Flats / Apartments: 0.3%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Baringa Caloundra West
Median house price $1,025,000 $976,000
Median unit price — $805,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) — 22 days
from 69 sales

Development activity

Baringa Caloundra West
New dwellings approved 2,962
across Sunshine Coast
same for both
Approvals change year on year -41%
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.

Baringa Caloundra West
Houses 3.8%
$755/wk on $1.02M
 4.5%
$825/wk on $950K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Baringa Caloundra West
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 79% of QLD Higher than 53% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 91% of QLD Higher than 84% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 82% of QLD Higher than 81% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 99% of QLD Higher than 94% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 43% of QLD Higher than 77% of QLD

Liveability

Baringa is more walkable (66 vs 40).

Baringa Caloundra West
Grade B
same for both
Score 66/100 62/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10

Risk profile

Baringa carries more crime risk (63 vs 42).

Baringa Caloundra West
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Moderate
63/100
 Moderate
42/100
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 3
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Baringa Caloundra West
Inside the suburb 2 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1
same for both
Rated below peers 1 0
Universities within 10 km 1
UniSC Sunshine Coast, 9.7 km
 1
UniSC Sunshine Coast, 9.2 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 0.9% 1.5%

Schools in Baringa

  • Baringa State Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Baringa State Secondary College Government · Secondary below peers

Schools in Caloundra West

  • Unity College Catholic · Combined at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Baringa Caloundra West
Supermarkets 1
same for both
Cafes & restaurants 1 2
Parks & reserves 1 7
Childcare 2 4
GPs 1
same for both
Pharmacies 1
same for both
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 1 5

Mobility

Caloundra West sits further from the CBD (84.5 km vs 81.8 km).

Baringa Caloundra West
Walkability score 66/100 40/100
Distance to Brisbane 81.8 km 84.5 km
+3% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 70 min 74 min
Public transport score 61/100
Bus
 70/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 15.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 23.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 1.0%
postcode 4551
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 72
postcode 4551
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.

Baringa Caloundra West
Car (driver) 77.7% / 79.9%
Baringa — Car (driver): 77.7% Caloundra West — Car (driver): 79.9%
Worked from Home 14.1% / 12.7%
Baringa — Worked from Home: 14.1% Caloundra West — Worked from Home: 12.7%
Car (passenger) 4.8% / 4.9%
Baringa — Car (passenger): 4.8% Caloundra West — Car (passenger): 4.9%
Walked Only 1.0% / 1.1%
Baringa — Walked Only: 1.0% Caloundra West — Walked Only: 1.1%
Bus 1.4% / 0.6%
Baringa — Bus: 1.4% Caloundra West — Bus: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.9%).

Setting

Baringa Caloundra West
Elevation 18 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 3 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 4.3 km
4.4 km to a named beach
 2.2 km
2.4 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Baringa Caloundra West
Connectivity score 99/100 86/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 98%
2,101 premises
 61%
3,360 premises

Climate

Baringa Caloundra West
Annual rainfall 1,052 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 27.8°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 14.7°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Baringa Caloundra West
PM2.5 5.0 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.0 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.31 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Baringa Caloundra West
Average residential rate $1,690/yr
same for both
Council Sunshine Coast
same for both

Federal electorate

Baringa Caloundra West
Division Fisher
same for both
Member Andrew Wallace
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Baringa Caloundra West
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Baringa

Family River Young Families

Caloundra West

Coastal Family Parks Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Baringa

Baringa vs Little Mountain Baringa vs Nirimba Baringa vs Bells Creek

Other comparisons with Caloundra West

Caloundra West vs Little Mountain Caloundra West vs Pelican Waters Caloundra West vs Golden Beach Caloundra West vs Caloundra Caloundra West vs Aroona Caloundra West vs Bells Creek
Full data on Baringa Full data on Caloundra West
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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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