Located in Queensland, Cootharaba sits 151 km from Brisbane CBD, around 1 hour 55 minutes by car. The suburb has 866 residents, a median age of 48, and a median household income of $76,180 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The suburb grew 3.8% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $365 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,863. Walkability is low.
Is Cootharaba a good suburb?
Cootharaba scores a C (46/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on safety, weaker on transit.
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 151.2 km · 115 min drive to Brisbane
Median available
Median $1.2M
Low all-round risk
Fire 25/100 · Crime 35/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 5/10 · median age 48 · 866 residents
Liveability Rating
46 / 100 · Ranked #603 in QLDEach bar is Cootharaba'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 Cootharaba?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
46 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataThe median house sale price in Cootharaba sits at $1.2 million, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only seven sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.
Houses
$1,200,000
Based on only 7 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Land
$1,300,000
Based on only 5 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Rental Market
Rental affordability
June quarter 202577 Severely unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 39% of its income on the median rent in postcode 4565.
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.
Short-Stay Rentals
4 active Airbnb listings: 4 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 1.2% of the suburb's homes.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Is Cootharaba safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Cootharaba sits in the low band, with 5 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 50% on the prior year.
5 offences
50.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–20248 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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.
Schools
Walkability
Cootharaba is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Cootharaba.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 400
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
Noosa: 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
Cootharaba is home to 866 residents, with a median age of 48, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $76,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
866
Median Age
48
Median Household Income
$76,180/yr
Census Median Rent
$365/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,863/mo
Avg Household Size
2.7
Median Personal Income
$31,616/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
16.3%
Total Dwellings
283
Owner-Occupier Rate
87.3%
Houses
99.6%
Rental Stress
24.9%
Mortgage Stress
29.3%
Work From Home
25.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 70.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 86.7%
- Employment Rate
- 49.1%
- Completed Year 12
- 38.2%
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.
6 residents (0.7%) 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.
7.5% of residents (63) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (26).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 844 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
3% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (10 of 358).
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 $1,614 a year through Noosa based on 2025 figures.
Building Approvals: Noosa
In the year to August 2026, 239 new dwellings were approved across Noosa. That mix is 142 houses and 97 units. Approvals are down 8.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Aboriginal party for this area is Kabi Kabi First Nation Traditional Owners Native Title Claim Group.
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 Gympie, 31.8 kmHigh rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 25 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 12.5 km
- Annual rainfall
- 1,045 mm
- 88 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 30.9°C
- 14 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.7°C
- 2 frost days ≤ 0°C
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 4565, 108 of 13,399 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.3% (310 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.1%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 4565, 4,744 rooftop-solar systems totalling 27.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 6,490 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 239 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
14 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 4565.
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 $1,200,000 this is $450,000 above 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 2026-10-27 — 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 Llew O'Brien Liberal National Party of Queensland
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Llew O'Brien | 42.4% | 57.6% | +3.7 |
| 2022 | Llew O'Brien | 38.7% | 61.3% | -1.8 |
| 2019 | Llew O'Brien | 36.9% | 63.1% | +5.0 |
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 Sandy Bolton Independent
Next state election: 28 October 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Sandy Bolton IND | 58.5% |
| 2020 | Sandy Bolton IND | 65.8% |
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 Cootharaba?
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 866 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 Cootharaba to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other QLD suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Cootharaba
Is Cootharaba a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Cootharaba is low (35/100, ranked against other QLD suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Cootharaba?
Cootharaba has a low recorded bushfire history (25/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Cootharaba a good place to live?
Cootharaba has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (46/100), 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 Cootharaba?
Cootharaba, QLD had a population of 866 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Cootharaba, QLD?
The postcode for Cootharaba, QLD is 4565.
How far is Cootharaba from Brisbane?
Cootharaba is 151 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 115 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Cootharaba?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cootharaba was $76,180 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 Cootharaba?
There are too few current rental listings in Cootharaba for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $365, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Cootharaba?
The median age of residents in Cootharaba was 48 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Cootharaba at risk of bushfire?
Cootharaba has a low recorded bushfire history (25/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
What is the weather like in Cootharaba?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cootharaba, Gympie (31.8 km away), summer days average 30.9°C, winter nights 7.7°C, 1,045 mm of rain a year over 88 rainy days, and 14 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cootharaba?
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 Cootharaba belong to?
Cootharaba sits within the Noosa local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Cootharaba?
The average residential rates bill through Noosa is $1,614 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Cootharaba?
Across Noosa, 239 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 8.7% 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 Cootharaba in?
Cootharaba sits within the federal Division of Wide Bay, currently held by Llew O'Brien (Liberal National Party of Queensland).
Search another suburb or address
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
- 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
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- 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.
Was the information on this page useful to you?
Thanks! Anything we could improve?
We hate spam as much as you do — we'll never use your email for marketing, and we might not be able to reply to everyone.
Thanks for your feedback! 🙏
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.