Airlie Beach QLD 4802
Airlie Beach sits 1,113 km from Brisbane CBD in Queensland, around 12 hours 45 minutes by car. Census data records 1,312 residents with a median age of 41 and a median household income of $81,224 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 8.6% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $380 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,925. The area shows high crime risk and high coastal erosion risk. Walkability is low.
Is Airlie Beach a good suburb?
Airlie Beach scores a C (38/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on safety.
Some car dependence
Walkability 34/100 · 1112.7 km · 764 min drive to Brisbane
Median available
Median $1.38M
High crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 95/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 41 · 1,312 residents
Liveability Rating
38 / 100 · Ranked #796 in QLDEach bar is Airlie Beach's rank among QLD suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
Flood data for Queensland covers only the areas mapped there — a blank here is not an all-clear.
How do you rate the liveability in Airlie Beach?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
38 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median Unit Price
Public listings dataAirlie Beach's unit market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $650,000, roughly 10% above where it sat a year earlier.
Units
$649,500
Based on 113 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 37 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 17 sales $515K
- 2 bed 69 sales $630K
- 3 bed 23 sales $720K
Land
$454,500
Based on 30 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 88 days — median across 11 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsActive asking-price coverage for houses in Airlie Beach is too thin to publish a meaningful median right now — only 2 active houses.
$670K
15 units listed in the last 6 months.
17 of the suburb's 437 dwellings (3.9%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Airlie Beach rent for around $1,275 a week on average, based on 4 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$1,275/wk
4 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$728/wk
16 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
20 rentals advertised against an estimated 222 rented homes (9.0%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 2-bed units
- $780/wk
- 13 bonds
- +69% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies. Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025101 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 30% of its income on the median rent in postcode 4802.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
IndicativeNot enough house sales and rentals in the window to calculate a yield.
$728/week ($38,000 a year) on a $670,000 median
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Is Airlie Beach safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Airlie Beach sits in the high band, with 171 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 10% on the prior year.
171 offences
10.3% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–202413 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Where they happened
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 679 m
- Rate
- -0.05 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -3.6 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Walkability
Airlie Beach is car-dependent on foot — at 34/100, most errands require a car. Within the suburb there are 1 supermarket, 1 park and 33 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Airlie Beach.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 28.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 20.9 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 19.8 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 16.5 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Airlie Beach.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 15%
- Premises covered
- 1,495
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Whitsunday: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Airlie Beach is home to about 1,300 residents, with a median age of 41, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $81,000 a year, with unemployment at 7.5%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,312
Median Age
41
Median Household Income
$81,224/yr
Census Median Rent
$380/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,925/mo
Avg Household Size
1.8
Median Personal Income
$48,464/yr
Unemployment Rate
7.5%
Unoccupied Dwellings
42.6%
Total Dwellings
437
Owner-Occupier Rate
49.3%
Houses
30.0%
Rental Stress
24.3%
Mortgage Stress
28.4%
Work From Home
14.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 54.1%
- English Spoken at Home
- 73.9%
- Employment Rate
- 58.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 54.3%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
181 residents (13.8%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
14.9% of residents (192) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (66).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,288 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (7 of 725).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,412 a year through Whitsunday based on 2025 figures.
Building Approvals: Whitsunday
In the year to August 2026, 190 new dwellings were approved across Whitsunday. That mix is 166 houses and 24 units. Approvals are up 70.0% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this suburb: 124 to 340 homes
- Within 2 years 18 to 60 homes
- In 2 to 5 years 34 to 95 homes
- In 5 to 10 years 71 to 180 homes
- No timeframe set 1 to 5 homes
Land the Queensland Government's residential land supply study identifies for future housing (14 parcels), by when it expects lots to be registered. Yields are published in ranges, so these are too.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Aboriginal party for this area is Gia and Ngaro Peoples.
Under Queensland's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 the Aboriginal party for an area follows native title. A native title claim over this area is registered with the Federal Court.
Climate & Setting
from Hamilton Island, 26.0 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 20 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 517 m
- 981 m to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,708 mm
- 101 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the suburb centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
EV adoption
In postcode 4802, 33 of 9,827 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.6% (153 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.9%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 4802, 2,801 rooftop-solar systems totalling 24.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,006 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 271 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$30,000 for new homes priced up to $750,000.
$30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, with no end date. IT DID NOT REVERT TO $15,000: the tier was due to end 30 June 2026 and the 2026-27 Queensland Budget (23 June 2026) continued it for contracts signed from 1 July 2026. This file carried a "due to revert" note until 2026-09-18 — it was never true, and a note predicting a change is not the same as a change. Cap is "less than $750,000" including land and contract variations — less than, not up to. New homes only: "There are no home owner grants for established homes."
Mortgage repayments
5 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 4802.
Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Queensland Revenue Office
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $750,000 may qualify for $30,000 — see what qualifies with Queensland Revenue Office.
At $649,500 this is under the $750,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $30,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Queensland Revenue Office.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-26 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Andrew Willcox Liberal National Party of Queensland
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Andrew Willcox | 38.2% | 61.8% | -1.4 |
| 2022 | Andrew Willcox | 39.6% | 60.4% | -4.2 |
| 2019 | George Christensen | 35.4% | 64.6% | +11.2 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Amanda Camm Liberal National Party of Queensland
Next state election: 28 October 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Amanda Camm LNP | 68.5% |
| 2020 | Amanda Camm LNP | 53.3% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2017, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of Queensland.
Looking at a specific address in Airlie Beach?
Every figure above is a suburb average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 1,312 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Airlie Beach to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other QLD suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about Airlie Beach
Is Airlie Beach a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Airlie Beach is high (95/100, ranked against other QLD suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Airlie Beach?
Airlie Beach has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Airlie Beach a good place to live?
Airlie Beach has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (38/100), ranked against other QLD suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Airlie Beach?
Airlie Beach, QLD had a population of 1,312 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Airlie Beach, QLD?
The postcode for Airlie Beach, QLD is 4802.
How far is Airlie Beach from Brisbane?
Airlie Beach is 1,113 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 764 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Airlie Beach?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Airlie Beach was $81,224 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Airlie Beach?
The median advertised rent in Airlie Beach is $1,275 a week for houses (4 listings) and $728 a week for units (16 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Airlie Beach?
The median age of residents in Airlie Beach was 41 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Airlie Beach walkable?
Airlie Beach scores 34/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the weather like in Airlie Beach?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island (26 km away), 1,708 mm of rain a year over 101 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Airlie Beach?
First-home buyers in QLD may be eligible for $30,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $750,000. The grant is administered by Queensland Revenue Office; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Airlie Beach belong to?
Airlie Beach sits within the Whitsunday local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Airlie Beach?
The average residential rates bill through Whitsunday is $1,412 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Airlie Beach?
Across Whitsunday, 190 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 70.0% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Airlie Beach in?
Airlie Beach sits within the federal Division of Dawson, currently held by Andrew Willcox (Liberal National Party of Queensland).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2025–26
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2020–2024
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2024
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.