Shute Harbour vs Whitsundays
Whitsundays is the younger of the two, with a median age of 29 against 58 in Shute Harbour. In Shute Harbour, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. In Whitsundays, most households rent, most homes are flats or apartments, and most households are people living alone. On these figures, Shute Harbour tends to suit older residents, while Whitsundays suits renters and young adults.
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
Whitsundays
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
- carries lower crime risk (35/100 vs 63/100)
- But Shute Harbour has more separate houses rather than flats (84% vs 21%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Whitsundays
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (66% vs 26%)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (19% vs 30%)
- has cheaper rent ($356/wk vs $550/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Shute Harbour
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (16/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (775 min vs 830 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (1123 km vs 1144.5 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Shute Harbour is more walkable (16/100 vs 0/100)
- Whitsundays has more units and townhouses to downsize into (79% vs 16%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Whitsundays
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (0.5% vs -7.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Shute Harbour and Whitsundays 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
Whitsundays has more residents (2,281 vs 113); Shute Harbour skews older (58 vs 29).
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 113 | 2,281 +1919% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -7.4% | +0.5% |
| Median age | 58 | 29 |
| Median household income | $94,224/yr | $98,904/yr +5% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $550/wk +35% vs other | $356/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (35.8%).
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 (17.7%).
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 (8.0%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,622,500 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $520,000 | — |
Development activity
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 190 across Whitsunday same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +70% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 68% of QLD | Higher than 73% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 77% of QLD | Higher than 18% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 50% of QLD same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 18% of QLD | Higher than 7% of QLD |
Liveability
Shute Harbour is more walkable (16 vs 0).
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | B |
| Score | — | 50/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 8/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Shute Harbour carries more crime risk (63 vs 35); Shute Harbour carries more bushfire risk (59 vs 41).
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 59/100 | Moderate 41/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 63/100 | Low 35/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 31/100 | High 87/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Shute Harbour
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Whitsundays
- Hamilton Island State School Government · Primary below peers
- Hayman Island State School Government · Primary
Amenities in the suburb
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 0 | 1 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 14 |
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 3 |
| GPs | 0 | 1 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Beaches | 0 | 9 |
| Waterways | 0 | 1 |
Mobility
Whitsundays sits further from the CBD (1144.5 km vs 1123 km).
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 16/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1123 km | 1144.5 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 775 min | 830 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 4802 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 4802 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 (69.5%).
Setting
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 18 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 105 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 92 m 1.6 km to a named beach | 1.5 km 4.4 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 11 premises | 0% 26 premises |
Climate
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,708 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,412/yr same for both | |
| Council | Whitsunday same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Dawson same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Willcox same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Shute Harbour | Whitsundays | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
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.