Coolum Beach vs Peregian Beach
Peregian Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 45 in Coolum Beach. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Peregian Beach, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Peregian Beach: a median of $1.86 million, against $1.52 million in Coolum Beach, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Coolum Beach tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Peregian Beach suits families with children and 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
Peregian Beach
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 54/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (64% vs 56%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (80% vs 70%)
- But Coolum Beach has more parks and reserves (22 vs 9)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Coolum Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,520,000 vs $1,865,000)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Coolum Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($450/wk vs $500/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Coolum Beach
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (92 min vs 102 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (117.4 km vs 126.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Coolum Beach
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more GPs (5 vs 1)
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (30% vs 20%)
- has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 16%)
- But Peregian Beach carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 54/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Coolum Beach returns a higher gross yield on units (3.7% vs 2.6%)
- Peregian Beach is growing faster (31.2% vs 7.7%)
Weighs house yield, unit yield, and population growth.
Where they sit
Coolum Beach and Peregian 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
Coolum Beach has more residents (9,152 vs 4,972); Peregian Beach has higher household incomes ($98,592 vs $83,200).
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,152 +46% vs other | 4,972 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +7.7% | +31.2% |
| Median age | 45 | 42 |
| Median household income | $83,200/yr | $98,592/yr +18% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $450/wk | $500/wk +11% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (14.8%).
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 (17.6%).
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 (7.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,520,000 | $1,865,000 |
| Median unit price | $1,117,500 | $1,145,000 |
| Median land price | $1,385,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 30 days from 84 sales | 38 days from 76 sales |
Unit price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
51 vs 24 sales
30 vs 6 sales
House price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
11 vs 10 sales
73 vs 43 sales
71 vs 76 sales
21 vs 14 sales
Development activity
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 2,962 across Sunshine Coast | 239 across Noosa |
| Approvals change year on year | -41% | -9% |
Gross rental yield
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.2% $975/wk on $1.6M | 3.2% $1,250/wk on $2M |
| Units | 3.7% $780/wk on $1.1M | 2.6% $738/wk on $1.49M |
Ranking within QLD
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 54% of QLD | Higher than 73% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 76% of QLD | Higher than 75% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 92% of QLD same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 78% of QLD | Higher than 82% of QLD |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 14% of QLD | Higher than 17% of QLD |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 19% of QLD | Higher than 3% of QLD |
Liveability
Peregian Beach scores higher overall (53 vs 38).
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | B |
| Score | 38/100 | 53/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Coolum Beach carries more crime risk (54 vs 12); Peregian Beach carries more bushfire risk (70 vs 59).
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 59/100 | High 70/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 54/100 | Low 12/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 16/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 2 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 2 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 2 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Coolum Beach
- Coolum State High School Government · Secondary at peers
- Coolum State School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Peregian Beach
- Peregian Beach College Independent · Combined below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 4 | 1 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 9 | 5 |
| Parks & reserves | 22 | 9 |
| Childcare | 5 | 4 |
| GPs | 5 | 1 |
| Pharmacies | 3 | 1 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 3 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 4 | 1 |
| Waterways | 9 | 4 |
Mobility
Peregian Beach sits further from the CBD (126.3 km vs 117.4 km).
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 14/100 | 13/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 117.4 km | 126.3 km +8% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 92 min | 102 min |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus | 69/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 48.8 7-9am + 5-7pm | 20.2 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.7% postcode 4573 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 59 postcode 4573 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 (70.0%).
Setting
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 1 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 7 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 2.4 km 2.3 km to a named beach | 2.2 km |
NBN connectivity
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 69/100 | 73/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Fibre to the premises |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 43% 5,854 premises | 51% 2,710 premises |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 4.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 12.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,690/yr | $1,614/yr |
| Council | Sunshine Coast | Noosa |
Federal electorate
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Fairfax | Wide Bay |
| Member | Ted O'Brien | Llew O'Brien |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Coolum Beach | Peregian Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Coolum 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.