Cooroy Mountain vs Lake Macdonald
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Cooroy Mountain, most households are couple families. In Lake Macdonald, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Cooroy Mountain: a median of $5.44 million, against $1.31 million in Lake Macdonald, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Lake Macdonald tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget.
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
Lake Macdonald
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (23/100 vs 35/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Lake Macdonald
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,315,000 vs $5,437,500)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Lake Macdonald
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($420/wk vs $510/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Cooroy Mountain
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Cooroy Mountain is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
- Lake Macdonald carries lower crime risk (23/100 vs 35/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Cooroy Mountain
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (8.8% vs -0.8%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Cooroy Mountain and Lake Macdonald 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
Lake Macdonald has more residents (1,352 vs 148); Cooroy Mountain rents higher ($510/wk vs $420/wk).
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 148 | 1,352 +814% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +8.8% | -0.8% |
| Median age | 51 | 49 |
| Median household income | $109,772/yr +16% vs other | $92,092/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $510/wk +18% vs other | $420/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.0%).
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 (19.4%).
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 (8.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $5,437,500 | $1,315,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $1,235,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 100 days from 6 sales |
Development activity
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 239 across Noosa same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -9% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 81% of QLD | Higher than 65% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 72% of QLD | Higher than 54% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 82% of QLD same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 66% of QLD | Higher than 70% of QLD |
Liveability
Cooroy Mountain is more walkable (10 vs 0).
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | B |
| Score | — | 61/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | advantaged area decile 7/10 |
Risk profile
Cooroy Mountain carries more crime risk (35 vs 23).
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 35/100 | Low 23/100 |
| 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 | 1 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 3 |
| Waterways | 0 | 3 |
Mobility
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 131.1 km +1% vs other | 129.7 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 104 min | 101 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.0% postcode 4563 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 96 postcode 4563 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 (77.0%).
Setting
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 268 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 95 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 12.3 km | 13.0 km |
NBN connectivity
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 52/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Fibre to the node |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 74 premises | 23% 583 premises |
Climate
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,045 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.9°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 7.7°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 4.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 12.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,614/yr same for both | |
| Council | Noosa same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wide Bay same for both | |
| Member | Llew O'Brien same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cooroy Mountain | Lake Macdonald | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cooroy Mountain
Other comparisons with Lake Macdonald
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.