Cook vs Macquarie

Macquarie is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 42 in Cook. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Cook: a median of $1.1 million, against $1 million in Macquarie, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Macquarie tends to suit young adults.

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

Macquarie

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (4 vs 0)
  • has more schools rated above their peers (2 vs 0)
  • But Cook carries lower crime risk (28/100 vs 75/100)

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

First-home buyers

Macquarie

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper units ($585,000 vs $815,000)
  • has cheaper houses ($1,000,000 vs $1,100,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Macquarie

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (38% vs 24%)
  • has cheaper rent ($400/wk vs $440/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • Cook carries lower crime risk (28/100 vs 75/100)
  • Macquarie has more GPs (3 vs 0)

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

Investors

Macquarie

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (15.0% vs 5.7%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Cook Macquarie
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.

Cook Macquarie
Walkability 78 / 85
Cook — Walkability: 78/100 Macquarie — Walkability: 85/100
Safety 72 / 25
Cook — Safety: 72/100 Macquarie — Safety: 25/100
Low fire risk 55 / 100
Cook — Low fire risk: 55/100 Macquarie — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Cook — Low flood risk: 100/100 Macquarie — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Cook has higher household incomes ($117,988 vs $101,244); Cook skews older (42 vs 37).

Cook Macquarie
Population 2,965 3,104
+5% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +5.7% +15.0%
Median age 42 37
Median household income $117,988/yr
+14% vs other
 $101,244/yr
Median weekly rent $440/wk
+9% vs other
 $400/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cook Macquarie
0-4 5.6% / 4.8%
Cook — 0-4: 5.6% Macquarie — 0-4: 4.8%
5-14 11.7% / 11.6%
Cook — 5-14: 11.7% Macquarie — 5-14: 11.6%
15-19 4.6% / 4.3%
Cook — 15-19: 4.6% Macquarie — 15-19: 4.3%
20-24 4.3% / 7.8%
Cook — 20-24: 4.3% Macquarie — 20-24: 7.8%
25-34 12.6% / 17.4%
Cook — 25-34: 12.6% Macquarie — 25-34: 17.4%
35-44 14.9% / 15.2%
Cook — 35-44: 14.9% Macquarie — 35-44: 15.2%
45-54 15.0% / 11.4%
Cook — 45-54: 15.0% Macquarie — 45-54: 11.4%
55-64 11.0% / 10.0%
Cook — 55-64: 11.0% Macquarie — 55-64: 10.0%
65-74 9.9% / 8.9%
Cook — 65-74: 9.9% Macquarie — 65-74: 8.9%
75-84 7.6% / 7.2%
Cook — 75-84: 7.6% Macquarie — 75-84: 7.2%
85+ 2.5% / 1.9%
Cook — 85+: 2.5% Macquarie — 85+: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cook 42.9% lone person
Cook — Lone Person: 42.9% Cook — Couple Families: 37.0% Cook — One Parent Families: 13.7% Cook — Group Household: 4.9% Cook — Other Families: 1.5%
Macquarie 44.5% lone person
Macquarie — Lone Person: 44.5% Macquarie — Couple Families: 32.1% Macquarie — One Parent Families: 14.3% Macquarie — Group Household: 7.5% Macquarie — Other Families: 1.6%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cook 24.1% renting
Cook — Owned Outright: 41.0% Cook — Mortgage: 34.9% Cook — Renting: 24.1%
Macquarie 38.0% renting
Macquarie — Owned Outright: 32.7% Macquarie — Mortgage: 29.3% Macquarie — Renting: 38.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Cook Macquarie
Bachelor Degree 24.3% / 20.9%
Cook — Bachelor Degree: 24.3% Macquarie — Bachelor Degree: 20.9%
Postgraduate Degree 17.3% / 13.5%
Cook — Postgraduate Degree: 17.3% Macquarie — Postgraduate Degree: 13.5%
Certificate III & IV 6.1% / 8.5%
Cook — Certificate III & IV: 6.1% Macquarie — Certificate III & IV: 8.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.5% / 6.0%
Cook — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.5% Macquarie — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.0%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 5.3% / 4.4%
Cook — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 5.3% Macquarie — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.3%).

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.

Cook Macquarie
England 4.5% / 3.5%
Cook — England: 4.5% Macquarie — England: 3.5%
India 1.5% / 2.6%
Cook — India: 1.5% Macquarie — India: 2.6%
China 1.4% / 2.4%
Cook — China: 1.4% Macquarie — China: 2.4%
New Zealand 1.1% / 0.9%
Cook — New Zealand: 1.1% Macquarie — New Zealand: 0.9%
Philippines 0.6% / 1.1%
Cook — Philippines: 0.6% Macquarie — Philippines: 1.1%
Vietnam — / 1.7%
Cook — Vietnam: not among its largest Macquarie — Vietnam: 1.7%
Germany 0.9% / —
Cook — Germany: 0.9% Macquarie — Germany: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.5%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cook 60.3% houses
Cook — Houses: 60.3% Cook — Townhouses: 36.2% Cook — Flats / Apartments: 3.5%
Macquarie 61.6% houses
Macquarie — Houses: 61.6% Macquarie — Townhouses: 14.4% Macquarie — Flats / Apartments: 24.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Cook Macquarie
Median house price $1,100,000 $1,000,000
Median unit price $815,000 $585,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 22 days
from 28 sales
same for both

House price by bedroom count

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

Cook Macquarie
3 bed $1M / $929K
Cook — 3 bed: $1M (21 sales) Macquarie — 3 bed: $929K (24 sales)

21 vs 24 sales

4 bed $1.3M / $1.29M
Cook — 4 bed: $1.3M (20 sales) Macquarie — 4 bed: $1.29M (13 sales)

20 vs 13 sales

Development activity

Cook Macquarie
New dwellings approved 3,750
across Unincorporated ACT
same for both
Approvals change year on year -48%
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.

Cook Macquarie
Houses 3.8%
$620/wk on $847K
 4.1%
$730/wk on $922K
Units — 7.8%
$550/wk on $365K

Ranking within ACT

Cook Macquarie
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 36% of ACT Higher than 11% of ACT
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 80% of ACT Higher than 91% of ACT
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 48% of ACT Higher than 44% of ACT
NBN connectivity Higher than 51% of ACT
same for both
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 24% of ACT Higher than 37% of ACT
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 95% of ACT

Liveability

Cook scores higher overall (73 vs 65).

Cook Macquarie
Grade A
same for both
Score 73/100 65/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Cook carries more bushfire risk (45 vs 0); Macquarie carries more crime risk (75 vs 28).

Cook Macquarie
Bushfire Moderate
45/100
 None
0/100
Crime Low
28/100
 High
75/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
 2
within 5 km

Schools

Cook Macquarie
Inside the suburb 0 2
Rated above peers 0 2
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 3
UC - Canberra, Bruce, 2.8 km
 3
UC - Canberra, Bruce, 2.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 2.3% 2.5%

Schools in Cook

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

Schools in Macquarie

  • Canberra High School Government · Secondary above peers
  • Macquarie Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Amenities in the suburb

Cook Macquarie
Supermarkets 1 2
Cafes & restaurants 1 9
Parks & reserves 1
same for both
Childcare 0 4
GPs 0 3
Pharmacies 0 2
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 1
EV chargers 0 1

Mobility

Cook Macquarie
Walkability score 78/100 85/100
Distance to Canberra 9.2 km
+1% vs other
 9.1 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 15 min
same for both
Public transport score 75/100
Bus
 78/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 27.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 58.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 3.3%
postcode 2614
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 41
postcode 2614
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.

Cook Macquarie
Car (driver) 60.3% / 67.4%
Cook — Car (driver): 60.3% Macquarie — Car (driver): 67.4%
Worked from Home 15.7% / 11.7%
Cook — Worked from Home: 15.7% Macquarie — Worked from Home: 11.7%
Bus 8.4% / 7.7%
Cook — Bus: 8.4% Macquarie — Bus: 7.7%
Car (passenger) 5.3% / 6.9%
Cook — Car (passenger): 5.3% Macquarie — Car (passenger): 6.9%
Bicycle 8.2% / 3.2%
Cook — Bicycle: 8.2% Macquarie — Bicycle: 3.2%
Walked Only 2.1% / 3.2%
Cook — Walked Only: 2.1% Macquarie — Walked Only: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (67.4%).

Setting

Cook Macquarie
Elevation 622 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 616 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Cook Macquarie
Connectivity score 55/100 56/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 15%
1,458 premises
 20%
1,603 premises

Climate

Cook Macquarie
Annual rainfall 622 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 28.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 0.8°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Cook Macquarie
PM2.5 6.6 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 11.0 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.41 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Cook Macquarie
Average residential rate $3,105/yr
same for both
Council Unincorporated ACT
same for both

Federal electorate

Cook Macquarie
Division Canberra
same for both
Member Alicia Payne
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cook Macquarie
Grant amount Not offered
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility None
same for both

Tags

Cook

Inner Professionals Townhouses

Macquarie

Inner Professionals

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cook

Cook vs Belconnen Cook vs Weetangera Cook vs Aranda

Other comparisons with Macquarie

Macquarie vs Belconnen Macquarie vs Belconnen Macquarie vs Bruce Macquarie vs Page Macquarie vs Weetangera Macquarie vs Aranda
Full data on Cook Full data on Macquarie
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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