Happy Valley vs Mica Creek
Happy Valley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 41 in Mica Creek. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Happy Valley, most households are couple families. In Mica Creek, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Happy Valley tends to suit families with children, while Mica Creek 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
Happy Valley
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more childcare (3 vs 0)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (98% vs 84%)
- But Mica Creek carries lower crime risk (28/100 vs 89/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Happy Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (15% vs 22%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Happy Valley has a bigger rental market to choose from (43% vs 25%)
- Mica Creek has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $420/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Happy Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (51/100 vs 4/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Mica Creek
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (16% vs 2%)
- carries lower crime risk (28/100 vs 89/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (14% vs 6%)
- But Happy Valley is more walkable (51/100 vs 4/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Happy Valley and Mica Creek 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
Happy Valley has more residents (733 vs 182); Mica Creek skews older (41 vs 30).
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 733 +75% vs other | 182 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -4.4% | -7.6% |
| Median age | 30 | 41 |
| Median household income | $136,708/yr +7% vs other | $126,724/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $420/wk +17% vs other | $350/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (5.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.6%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $275,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 13 days from 3 sales | — |
Ranking within QLD
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 95% of QLD | Higher than 93% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 87% of QLD | Higher than 67% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 2% of QLD | Higher than 1% of QLD |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 69% of QLD | Higher than 72% of QLD |
Liveability
Happy Valley is more walkable (51 vs 4).
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 38/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 |
Risk profile
Happy Valley carries more crime risk (89 vs 28).
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 89/100 | Low 28/100 |
| 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 | 9 within 5 km | 7 within 5 km |
Schools
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Happy Valley
- Happy Valley State School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Mica Creek
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Childcare | 3 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 same for both | |
Mobility
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 51/100 | 4/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1829.4 km | 1831.2 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 1214 min | 1217 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 4825 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 38 postcode 4825 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 (86.2%).
Setting
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 359 m above sea level, at the suburb centre same for both | |
NBN connectivity
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 45/100 | 61/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 292 premises | 29% 86 premises |
Climate
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 502 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.0 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.0 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $893/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mount Isa same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Kennedy same for both | |
| Member | Bob Katter same for both | |
| Party | Katter's Australian Party (KAP) same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Happy Valley | Mica Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Happy Valley
Mica Creek
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Happy Valley
Other comparisons with Mica Creek
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.