Lake Macdonald vs Cooroibah

Cooroibah is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 49 in Lake Macdonald. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Lake Macdonald, about half of households are couple families. In Cooroibah, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Cooroibah: a median of $1.57 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

Cooroibah

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more parks and reserves (14 vs 3)

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

First-home buyers

Lake Macdonald

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 28%)
  • has cheaper houses ($1,315,000 vs $1,570,000)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Lake Macdonald

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (24% vs 30%)
  • has cheaper rent ($420/wk vs $500/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Lake Macdonald

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (101 min vs 115 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (129.7 km vs 144.8 km)
  • But Cooroibah is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Cooroibah

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)

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

Investors

Cooroibah

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (6.7% vs -0.8%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
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.

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Walkability 0 / 10
Lake Macdonald — Walkability: 0/100 Cooroibah — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 77 / 76
Lake Macdonald — Safety: 77/100 Cooroibah — Safety: 76/100
Low fire risk 100 / 30
Lake Macdonald — Low fire risk: 100/100 Cooroibah — Low fire risk: 30/100

Demographics

Cooroibah has more residents (2,178 vs 1,352); Cooroibah rents higher ($500/wk vs $420/wk).

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Population 1,352 2,178
+61% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -0.8% +6.7%
Median age 49 46
Median household income $92,092/yr
+7% vs other
 $85,228/yr
Median weekly rent $420/wk $500/wk
+19% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
0-4 3.7% / 3.7%
Lake Macdonald — 0-4: 3.7% Cooroibah — 0-4: 3.7%
5-14 13.1% / 14.7%
Lake Macdonald — 5-14: 13.1% Cooroibah — 5-14: 14.7%
15-19 5.5% / 7.2%
Lake Macdonald — 15-19: 5.5% Cooroibah — 15-19: 7.2%
20-24 3.3% / 4.1%
Lake Macdonald — 20-24: 3.3% Cooroibah — 20-24: 4.1%
25-34 5.5% / 6.7%
Lake Macdonald — 25-34: 5.5% Cooroibah — 25-34: 6.7%
35-44 11.4% / 10.7%
Lake Macdonald — 35-44: 11.4% Cooroibah — 35-44: 10.7%
45-54 13.8% / 16.8%
Lake Macdonald — 45-54: 13.8% Cooroibah — 45-54: 16.8%
55-64 20.3% / 16.5%
Lake Macdonald — 55-64: 20.3% Cooroibah — 55-64: 16.5%
65-74 15.6% / 13.1%
Lake Macdonald — 65-74: 15.6% Cooroibah — 65-74: 13.1%
75-84 5.6% / 5.9%
Lake Macdonald — 75-84: 5.6% Cooroibah — 75-84: 5.9%
85+ 1.6% / 0.6%
Lake Macdonald — 85+: 1.6% Cooroibah — 85+: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Lake Macdonald 53.6% couple families
Lake Macdonald — Couple Families: 53.6% Lake Macdonald — Lone Person: 28.6% Lake Macdonald — One Parent Families: 14.5% Lake Macdonald — Group Household: 3.3% Lake Macdonald — Other Families: 0.0%
Cooroibah 60.6% couple families
Cooroibah — Couple Families: 60.6% Cooroibah — Lone Person: 18.3% Cooroibah — One Parent Families: 15.3% Cooroibah — Group Household: 4.3% Cooroibah — Other Families: 1.5%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Lake Macdonald 10.4% renting
Lake Macdonald — Owned Outright: 47.5% Lake Macdonald — Mortgage: 42.0% Lake Macdonald — Renting: 10.4%
Cooroibah 9.8% renting
Cooroibah — Owned Outright: 43.6% Cooroibah — Mortgage: 46.6% Cooroibah — Renting: 9.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Certificate III & IV 19.4% / 19.6%
Lake Macdonald — Certificate III & IV: 19.4% Cooroibah — Certificate III & IV: 19.6%
Bachelor Degree 12.4% / 9.6%
Lake Macdonald — Bachelor Degree: 12.4% Cooroibah — Bachelor Degree: 9.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 10.6% / 9.0%
Lake Macdonald — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.6% Cooroibah — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.0%
Postgraduate Degree 3.1% / 2.1%
Lake Macdonald — Postgraduate Degree: 3.1% Cooroibah — Postgraduate Degree: 2.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 1.1%
Lake Macdonald — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Cooroibah — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.6%).

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.

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
England 5.8% / 6.0%
Lake Macdonald — England: 5.8% Cooroibah — England: 6.0%
New Zealand 4.3% / 3.3%
Lake Macdonald — New Zealand: 4.3% Cooroibah — New Zealand: 3.3%
South Africa 0.7% / 0.8%
Lake Macdonald — South Africa: 0.7% Cooroibah — South Africa: 0.8%
Germany 0.4% / 0.8%
Lake Macdonald — Germany: 0.4% Cooroibah — Germany: 0.8%
Vietnam — / 0.6%
Lake Macdonald — Vietnam: not among its largest Cooroibah — Vietnam: 0.6%
Italy 0.4% / —
Lake Macdonald — Italy: 0.4% Cooroibah — Italy: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Lake Macdonald 97.9% houses
Lake Macdonald — Houses: 97.9% Lake Macdonald — Flats / Apartments: 2.1%
Cooroibah 97.7% houses
Cooroibah — Houses: 97.7% Cooroibah — Flats / Apartments: 2.3%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Median house price $1,315,000 $1,570,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $1,235,000 $1,400,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 100 days
from 6 sales
 36 days
from 22 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.

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
3 bed $1.14M / $1.4M
Lake Macdonald — 3 bed: $1.14M (14 sales) Cooroibah — 3 bed: $1.4M (11 sales)

14 vs 11 sales

4 bed $1.75M / $1.6M
Lake Macdonald — 4 bed: $1.75M (10 sales) Cooroibah — 4 bed: $1.6M (20 sales)

10 vs 20 sales

Development activity

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
New dwellings approved 239
across Noosa
same for both
Approvals change year on year -9%
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.

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Houses — 2.9%
$950/wk on $1.73M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within QLD

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 65% of QLD Higher than 59% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 54% of QLD Higher than 71% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 82% of QLD Higher than 77% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 70% of QLD Higher than 74% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 8% of QLD

Liveability

Cooroibah is more walkable (10 vs 0); Lake Macdonald scores higher overall (61 vs 38).

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Grade B C
Score 61/100 38/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Cooroibah carries more bushfire risk (70 vs 0).

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Bushfire None
0/100
 High
70/100
Crime Low
23/100
 Low
24/100
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
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
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

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Parks & reserves 3 14
Waterways 3 5

Mobility

Cooroibah sits further from the CBD (144.8 km vs 129.7 km).

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Walkability score 0/100 10/100
Distance to Brisbane 129.7 km 144.8 km
+12% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 101 min 115 min
Electric vehicle share 1.0%
postcode 4563
 0.8%
postcode 4565
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 96
postcode 4563
 73
postcode 4565

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.

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Car (driver) 77.0% / 71.9%
Lake Macdonald — Car (driver): 77.0% Cooroibah — Car (driver): 71.9%
Worked from Home 17.4% / 19.8%
Lake Macdonald — Worked from Home: 17.4% Cooroibah — Worked from Home: 19.8%
Car (passenger) 3.5% / 4.9%
Lake Macdonald — Car (passenger): 3.5% Cooroibah — Car (passenger): 4.9%
Walked Only 1.4% / 2.1%
Lake Macdonald — Walked Only: 1.4% Cooroibah — Walked Only: 2.1%
Bus 0.8% / 1.3%
Lake Macdonald — Bus: 0.8% Cooroibah — Bus: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (77.0%).

Setting

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Elevation 95 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 17 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 13.0 km 6.1 km

NBN connectivity

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Connectivity score 52/100 64/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 23%
583 premises
 40%
828 premises

Climate

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
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

Council rates

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Average residential rate $1,614/yr
same for both
Council Noosa
same for both

Federal electorate

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
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

Lake Macdonald Cooroibah
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Lake Macdonald

Acreage

Cooroibah

Acreage Premium

More comparisons

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Other comparisons with Cooroibah

Cooroibah vs Tewantin Cooroibah vs Tinbeerwah Cooroibah vs Noosa North Shore Cooroibah vs Ringtail Creek
Full data on Lake Macdonald Full data on Cooroibah
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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.

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