Whitsundays vs Woodwark
Whitsundays is the younger of the two, with a median age of 29 against 44 in Woodwark. In Whitsundays, most households rent, most homes are flats or apartments, and most households are people living alone. In Woodwark, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Whitsundays tends to suit renters, young adults, and people living alone, while Woodwark 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
Woodwark
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more separate houses rather than flats (96% vs 21%)
- is already more of a family suburb (74% vs 28%)
- But Whitsundays has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
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 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (66% vs 13%)
- has cheaper rent ($356/wk vs $420/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Woodwark
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (766 min vs 830 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (1113.6 km vs 1144.5 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Whitsundays
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (79% vs 4%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Woodwark
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (49.5% vs 0.5%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Whitsundays and Woodwark 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 559); Woodwark skews older (44 vs 29).
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,281 +75% vs other | 559 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +0.5% | +49.5% |
| Median age | 29 | 44 |
| Median household income | $98,904/yr | $105,612/yr +7% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $356/wk | $420/wk +18% vs other |
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 (20.0%).
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 (4.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $1,240,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $500,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 26 days from 10 sales |
Development activity
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 190 across Whitsunday same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +70% same for both | |
Ranking within QLD
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 73% of QLD | Higher than 78% of QLD |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 18% of QLD | Higher than 29% of QLD |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 50% of QLD same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 7% of QLD | Higher than 68% of QLD |
Liveability
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B same for both | |
| Score | 50/100 same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 | advantaged area decile 8/10 |
Risk profile
Whitsundays carries more bushfire risk (41 vs 18).
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 41/100 | Low 18/100 |
| Crime | Low 35/100 | Moderate 42/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | High 87/100 | Moderate 48/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 2 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Whitsundays
- Hamilton Island State School Government · Primary below peers
- Hayman Island State School Government · Primary
Schools in Woodwark
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 14 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 1 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Beaches | 9 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 6 |
Mobility
Whitsundays sits further from the CBD (1144.5 km vs 1113.6 km).
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Brisbane | 1144.5 km +3% vs other | 1113.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 830 min | 766 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 (75.9%).
Setting
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 105 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 111 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 1.5 km 4.4 km to a named beach | 938 m |
NBN connectivity
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 | 42/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 26 premises | 17% 247 premises |
Climate
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,708 mm | 1,502 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | — | 31.7°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | — | 11.9°C |
Council rates
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,412/yr same for both | |
| Council | Whitsunday same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Dawson same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Willcox same for both | |
| Party | Liberal National Party of Queensland same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Whitsundays | Woodwark | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $30,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Whitsundays
Other comparisons with Woodwark
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.