Chelona vs Mcewens Beach
Chelona is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 54 in McEwens Beach. In both, the large majority of households own their home. In Chelona, the large majority of households are couple families. In McEwens Beach, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Chelona tends to suit families with children and couples, while McEwens Beach suits people living alone and older residents.
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
Chelona
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more separate houses rather than flats (24% vs 10%)
- is already more of a family suburb (86% vs 54%)
- carries lower crime risk (24/100 vs 38/100)
- But McEwens Beach has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
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
McEwens Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($268/wk vs $346/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Chelona
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (23/100 vs 10/100)
- has a shorter drive in (648 min vs 653 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (951.5 km vs 958.6 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Chelona is more walkable (23/100 vs 10/100)
- Mcewens Beach has more residents already 65 and over (25% vs 17%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Chelona
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (20.0% vs -21.3%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Chelona and Mcewens Beach 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
McEwens Beach skews older (54 vs 37); McEwens Beach has more residents (159 vs 120).
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 120 | 159 +32% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +20.0% | -21.3% |
| Median age | 37 | 54 |
| Median household income | $101,816/yr +6% vs other | $95,316/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $346/wk +23% vs other | $268/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.5%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.5%).
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 (3.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Development activity
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 574 across Mackay same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -6% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 75% of QLD | Higher than 69% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 80% of QLD | Higher than 72% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 41% of QLD | Higher than 42% of QLD |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 59% of QLD | Higher than 66% of QLD |
Liveability
Chelona is more walkable (23 vs 10).
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
McEwens Beach carries more crime risk (38 vs 24).
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 24/100 | Low 38/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 | High 96/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Chelona
- Chelona State School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Mcewens Beach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 3 |
| Waterways | 4 | 0 |
Mobility
McEwens Beach sits further from the CBD (958.6 km vs 951.5 km).
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 23/100 | 10/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 951.5 km | 958.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 648 min | 653 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 4740 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 4740 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 (90.3%).
Setting
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 11 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 1 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 4.4 km | 1.8 km |
NBN connectivity
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 39 premises | 0% 94 premises |
Climate
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,517 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.8°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 12.4°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.6 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 17.9 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,873/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mackay same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Capricornia same for both | |
| Member | Michelle Landry same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Chelona | Mcewens Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Chelona
Mcewens Beach
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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.