Chelona vs Sandiford

Chelona is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 40 in Sandiford. In both, the large majority of households own their home and most households are couple families. On these figures, Chelona tends to suit couples, while Sandiford 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Chelona is already more of a family suburb (86% vs 70%)
  • Sandiford has more separate houses rather than flats (48% vs 24%)

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

Sandiford

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper rent ($150/wk vs $346/wk)
  • leaves renters under less rental stress (8% vs 18%)

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 0/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (951.5 km vs 958.9 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (648 min vs 653 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Chelona

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (23/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (79% vs 57%)

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 -4.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Chelona Sandiford
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.

Chelona Sandiford
Walkability 23 / 0
Chelona — Walkability: 23/100 Sandiford — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 76 / 70
Chelona — Safety: 76/100 Sandiford — Safety: 70/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Chelona — Low fire risk: 100/100 Sandiford — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Chelona rents higher ($346/wk vs $150/wk); Sandiford has more residents (168 vs 120).

Chelona Sandiford
Population 120 168
+40% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +20.0% -4.0%
Median age 37 40
Median household income $101,816/yr
+9% vs other
 $92,248/yr
Median weekly rent $346/wk
+57% vs other
 $150/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Chelona Sandiford
0-4 7.5% / 11.9%
Chelona — 0-4: 7.5% Sandiford — 0-4: 11.9%
5-14 19.2% / 12.5%
Chelona — 5-14: 19.2% Sandiford — 5-14: 12.5%
15-19 — / 6.5%
Chelona — 15-19: not among its largest Sandiford — 15-19: 6.5%
20-24 5.0% / 4.2%
Chelona — 20-24: 5.0% Sandiford — 20-24: 4.2%
25-34 14.2% / 13.1%
Chelona — 25-34: 14.2% Sandiford — 25-34: 13.1%
35-44 15.8% / 13.7%
Chelona — 35-44: 15.8% Sandiford — 35-44: 13.7%
45-54 15.0% / 11.9%
Chelona — 45-54: 15.0% Sandiford — 45-54: 11.9%
55-64 10.0% / 13.1%
Chelona — 55-64: 10.0% Sandiford — 55-64: 13.1%
65-74 12.5% / 12.5%
Chelona — 65-74: 12.5% Sandiford — 65-74: 12.5%
75-84 4.2% / 3.6%
Chelona — 75-84: 4.2% Sandiford — 75-84: 3.6%
85+ — / 1.8%
Chelona — 85+: not among its largest Sandiford — 85+: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Chelona 85.7% couple families
Chelona — Couple Families: 85.7% Chelona — Lone Person: 14.3% Chelona — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Sandiford 56.7% couple families
Sandiford — Couple Families: 56.7% Sandiford — Lone Person: 30.0% Sandiford — One Parent Families: 13.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Chelona 11.4% renting
Chelona — Owned Outright: 42.9% Chelona — Mortgage: 45.7% Chelona — Renting: 11.4%
Sandiford 16.0% renting
Sandiford — Owned Outright: 54.0% Sandiford — Mortgage: 30.0% Sandiford — Renting: 16.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Chelona 78.8% townhouses
Chelona — Townhouses: 78.8% Chelona — Houses: 24.2%
Sandiford 56.9% townhouses
Sandiford — Townhouses: 56.9% Sandiford — Houses: 48.3%
Townhouses Houses

Qualifications

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

Chelona Sandiford
Certificate III & IV 22.5% / 19.0%
Chelona — Certificate III & IV: 22.5% Sandiford — Certificate III & IV: 19.0%
Bachelor Degree 5.0% / 9.5%
Chelona — Bachelor Degree: 5.0% Sandiford — Bachelor Degree: 9.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.8% / 5.4%
Chelona — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.8% Sandiford — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.5%).

Property market

Chelona Sandiford
Median house price — $848,500
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Development activity

Chelona Sandiford
New dwellings approved 574
across Mackay
same for both
Approvals change year on year -6%
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Chelona Sandiford
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 75% of QLD Higher than 65% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 80% of QLD Higher than 33% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 41% of QLD
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 59% of QLD Higher than 56% of QLD

Liveability

Chelona is more walkable (23 vs 0).

Chelona Sandiford
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10

Risk profile

Chelona Sandiford
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
24/100
 Low
30/100
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
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Chelona Sandiford
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 Sandiford

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Chelona Sandiford
Childcare 0 1
Waterways 4 3

Mobility

Sandiford sits further from the CBD (958.9 km vs 951.5 km).

Chelona Sandiford
Walkability score 23/100 0/100
Distance to Brisbane 951.5 km 958.9 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.

Chelona Sandiford
Car (driver) 76.6% / 75.0%
Chelona — Car (driver): 76.6% Sandiford — Car (driver): 75.0%
Worked from Home 14.9% / 13.8%
Chelona — Worked from Home: 14.9% Sandiford — Worked from Home: 13.8%
Walked Only 8.5% / 6.2%
Chelona — Walked Only: 8.5% Sandiford — Walked Only: 6.2%
Car (passenger) — / 5.0%
Chelona — Car (passenger): not among its largest Sandiford — Car (passenger): 5.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.6%).

Setting

Chelona Sandiford
Elevation 11 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 14 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 4.4 km 8.3 km

NBN connectivity

Chelona Sandiford
Connectivity score 30/100
same for both
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
39 premises
 0%
75 premises

Climate

Chelona Sandiford
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 Sandiford
PM2.5 6.6 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 17.9 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Chelona Sandiford
Average residential rate $1,873/yr
same for both
Council Mackay
same for both

Federal electorate

Chelona Sandiford
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 Sandiford
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Chelona

Family River Rural Townhouses

Sandiford

Family Rural Townhouses Young Families

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Chelona

Chelona vs Balberra Chelona vs McEwens Beach Chelona vs Rosella Chelona vs Dunnrock

Other comparisons with Sandiford

Sandiford vs Bakers Creek Sandiford vs Balberra Sandiford vs Homebush Sandiford vs Palmyra Sandiford vs Te Kowai Sandiford vs Rosella
Full data on Chelona Full data on Sandiford
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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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