Happy Valley vs Mount Isa
Happy Valley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 35 in Mount Isa. In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Happy Valley tends to suit young adults, while Mount Isa 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Happy Valley has more childcare (3 vs 0)
- Mount Isa has more parks and reserves (5 vs 1)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Mount Isa
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (6% vs 15%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Mount Isa
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (4% vs 16%)
- has cheaper rent ($175/wk vs $420/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Happy Valley
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (51/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (1829.4 km vs 1850 km)
- has a shorter drive in (1214 min vs 1227 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Happy Valley is more walkable (51/100 vs 0/100)
- Mount Isa has more units and townhouses to downsize into (20% vs 2%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Mount Isa
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (45.8% vs -4.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Happy Valley and Mount Isa 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 172); Happy Valley rents higher ($420/wk vs $175/wk).
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 733 +77% vs other | 172 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -4.4% | +45.8% |
| Median age | 30 | 35 |
| Median household income | $136,708/yr | $245,804/yr +80% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $420/wk +58% vs other | $175/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.5%).
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 (19.2%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 95% of QLD | Higher than 100% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 87% of QLD | Higher than 56% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 2% of QLD same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 69% of QLD | Higher than 67% of QLD |
Liveability
Happy Valley is more walkable (51 vs 0).
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 38/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Mount Isa carries more bushfire risk (46 vs 0).
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Crime | High 89/100 | High 98/100 |
| 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 | 2 within 5 km |
Schools
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Mount Isa
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 5 |
| Childcare | 3 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 685 |
Mobility
Mount Isa sits further from the CBD (1850 km vs 1829.4 km).
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 51/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1829.4 km | 1850 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 1214 min | 1227 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 | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 359 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 418 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 45/100 | 33/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 292 premises | 8% 71 premises |
Climate
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 502 mm | 510 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | — | 37.0°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | — | 9.3°C |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $893/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mount Isa same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Happy Valley | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Mount Isa | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Happy Valley
Mount Isa
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Happy Valley
Other comparisons with Mount Isa
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.