Maroochy River vs Mount Coolum

In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Maroochy River, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Maroochy River: a median of $1.6 million, against $1.41 million in Mount Coolum. On these figures, Maroochy River tends to suit couples, while Mount Coolum 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

Maroochy River

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (96% vs 62%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (76% vs 56%)
  • But Mount Coolum has more parks and reserves (8 vs 5)

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

First-home buyers

Mount Coolum

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($1,410,000 vs $1,600,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Maroochy River leaves renters under less rental stress (21% vs 27%)
  • Mount Coolum has a bigger rental market to choose from (30% vs 15%)

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

Commuting to the city

Mount Coolum

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (40/100 vs 0/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Mount Coolum

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (40/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (38% vs 4%)

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

Investors

Mount Coolum

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.7% vs 3.0%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Maroochy River and Mount Coolum drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
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.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Walkability 0 / 40
Maroochy River — Walkability: 0/100 Mount Coolum — Walkability: 40/100
Safety 77 / 76
Maroochy River — Safety: 77/100 Mount Coolum — Safety: 76/100
Low fire risk 100 / 45
Maroochy River — Low fire risk: 100/100 Mount Coolum — Low fire risk: 45/100

Demographics

Mount Coolum has more residents (4,545 vs 1,667); Maroochy River has higher household incomes ($111,904 vs $87,880).

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Population 1,667 4,545
+173% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +8.9% +6.6%
Median age 42 44
Median household income $111,904/yr
+21% vs other
 $87,880/yr
Median weekly rent $460/wk
+2% vs other
 $450/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
0-4 5.5% / 5.2%
Maroochy River — 0-4: 5.5% Mount Coolum — 0-4: 5.2%
5-14 14.3% / 11.6%
Maroochy River — 5-14: 14.3% Mount Coolum — 5-14: 11.6%
15-19 6.2% / 5.6%
Maroochy River — 15-19: 6.2% Mount Coolum — 15-19: 5.6%
20-24 4.9% / 4.1%
Maroochy River — 20-24: 4.9% Mount Coolum — 20-24: 4.1%
25-34 8.3% / 10.4%
Maroochy River — 25-34: 8.3% Mount Coolum — 25-34: 10.4%
35-44 13.5% / 14.3%
Maroochy River — 35-44: 13.5% Mount Coolum — 35-44: 14.3%
45-54 15.5% / 16.5%
Maroochy River — 45-54: 15.5% Mount Coolum — 45-54: 16.5%
55-64 17.0% / 14.2%
Maroochy River — 55-64: 17.0% Mount Coolum — 55-64: 14.2%
65-74 9.8% / 10.7%
Maroochy River — 65-74: 9.8% Mount Coolum — 65-74: 10.7%
75-84 4.3% / 5.5%
Maroochy River — 75-84: 4.3% Mount Coolum — 75-84: 5.5%
85+ 1.4% / 1.9%
Maroochy River — 85+: 1.4% Mount Coolum — 85+: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Maroochy River 62.3% couple families
Maroochy River — Couple Families: 62.3% Maroochy River — Lone Person: 20.0% Maroochy River — One Parent Families: 13.6% Maroochy River — Group Household: 4.1% Maroochy River — Other Families: 0.0%
Mount Coolum 40.1% couple families
Mount Coolum — Couple Families: 40.1% Mount Coolum — Lone Person: 36.7% Mount Coolum — One Parent Families: 15.8% Mount Coolum — Group Household: 6.7% Mount Coolum — Other Families: 0.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Maroochy River 15.4% renting
Maroochy River — Owned Outright: 39.7% Maroochy River — Mortgage: 45.0% Maroochy River — Renting: 15.4%
Mount Coolum 30.1% renting
Mount Coolum — Owned Outright: 29.9% Mount Coolum — Mortgage: 40.0% Mount Coolum — Renting: 30.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Certificate III & IV 19.6% / 17.4%
Maroochy River — Certificate III & IV: 19.6% Mount Coolum — Certificate III & IV: 17.4%
Bachelor Degree 11.8% / 15.0%
Maroochy River — Bachelor Degree: 11.8% Mount Coolum — Bachelor Degree: 15.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.7% / 10.0%
Maroochy River — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.7% Mount Coolum — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.0%
Postgraduate Degree 4.0% / 4.6%
Maroochy River — Postgraduate Degree: 4.0% Mount Coolum — Postgraduate Degree: 4.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 2.6%
Maroochy River — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Mount Coolum — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.6%

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.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
England 5.3% / 5.8%
Maroochy River — England: 5.3% Mount Coolum — England: 5.8%
New Zealand 3.2% / 3.3%
Maroochy River — New Zealand: 3.2% Mount Coolum — New Zealand: 3.3%
South Africa 1.5% / 1.3%
Maroochy River — South Africa: 1.5% Mount Coolum — South Africa: 1.3%
Canada 0.8% / 0.9%
Maroochy River — Canada: 0.8% Mount Coolum — Canada: 0.9%
Germany 0.5% / 0.7%
Maroochy River — Germany: 0.5% Mount Coolum — Germany: 0.7%
Scotland — / 0.7%
Maroochy River — Scotland: not among its largest Mount Coolum — Scotland: 0.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Maroochy River 96.5% houses
Maroochy River — Houses: 96.5% Maroochy River — Townhouses: 1.5% Maroochy River — Flats / Apartments: 2.0%
Mount Coolum 62.3% houses
Mount Coolum — Houses: 62.3% Mount Coolum — Townhouses: 28.2% Mount Coolum — Flats / Apartments: 9.5%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Median house price $1,600,000 $1,410,000
Median unit price — $880,000
Median land price $1,722,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 18 days
from 17 sales
 22 days
from 41 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.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
4 bed $1.64M / $1.57M
Maroochy River — 4 bed: $1.64M (25 sales) Mount Coolum — 4 bed: $1.57M (45 sales)

25 vs 45 sales

5 bed $1.68M / $1.73M
Maroochy River — 5 bed: $1.68M (5 sales) Mount Coolum — 5 bed: $1.73M (10 sales)

5 vs 10 sales

Development activity

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
New dwellings approved 2,962
across Sunshine Coast
same for both
Approvals change year on year -41%
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.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Houses 3.0%
$1,100/wk on $1.9M
 3.7%
$920/wk on $1.3M
Units — 5.3%
$835/wk on $825K

Ranking within QLD

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 83% of QLD Higher than 62% of QLD
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 58% of QLD Higher than 85% of QLD
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 80% of QLD Higher than 92% of QLD
NBN connectivity Higher than 84% of QLD Higher than 76% of QLD
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 11% of QLD Higher than 34% of QLD
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 78% of QLD

Liveability

Mount Coolum is more walkable (40 vs 0); Maroochy River scores higher overall (67 vs 52).

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Grade B
same for both
Score 67/100 52/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Mount Coolum carries more bushfire risk (55 vs 0).

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Bushfire None
0/100
 Moderate
55/100
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 0
within 5 km
 3
within 5 km

Schools

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
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

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 1
Parks & reserves 5 8
Childcare 0 1
GPs 0 1
Waterways 16 1

Mobility

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Walkability score 0/100 40/100
Distance to Brisbane 114.8 km 115.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 92 min 95 min
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 4561
 1.7%
postcode 4573
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 99
postcode 4561
 59
postcode 4573

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.

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Car (driver) 74.1% / 72.4%
Maroochy River — Car (driver): 74.1% Mount Coolum — Car (driver): 72.4%
Worked from Home 19.8% / 21.3%
Maroochy River — Worked from Home: 19.8% Mount Coolum — Worked from Home: 21.3%
Car (passenger) 3.9% / 3.3%
Maroochy River — Car (passenger): 3.9% Mount Coolum — Car (passenger): 3.3%
Walked Only 1.7% / 1.0%
Maroochy River — Walked Only: 1.7% Mount Coolum — Walked Only: 1.0%
Bus — / 1.1%
Maroochy River — Bus: not among its largest Mount Coolum — Bus: 1.1%
Bicycle 0.4% / 0.5%
Maroochy River — Bicycle: 0.4% Mount Coolum — Bicycle: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (74.1%).

Setting

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Elevation 3 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 5 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 7.9 km 1.6 km
3.2 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Connectivity score 74/100 65/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 55%
746 premises
 37%
2,139 premises

Air quality (annual mean)

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
PM2.5 4.3 µg/m³ 5.0 µg/m³
PM10 12.3 µg/m³ 14.0 µg/m³
NO₂ — 0.31 pphm

Council rates

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Average residential rate $1,690/yr
same for both
Council Sunshine Coast
same for both

Federal electorate

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Division Fairfax
same for both
Member Ted O'Brien
same for both
Party Liberal National Party of Queensland
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Maroochy River Mount Coolum
Grant amount $30,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Maroochy River

Acreage Premium River

Mount Coolum

Coastal Parks Quiet Townhouses

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Maroochy River

Maroochy River vs Bli Bli Maroochy River vs Coolum Beach Maroochy River vs Marcoola Maroochy River vs Yandina Maroochy River vs Ninderry Maroochy River vs Yandina Creek

Other comparisons with Mount Coolum

Mount Coolum vs Coolum Beach Mount Coolum vs Marcoola Mount Coolum vs Yaroomba
Full data on Maroochy River Full data on Mount Coolum
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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