Whitsundays QLD 4802
Whitsundays is a suburb in Queensland, 1,144 km from Brisbane CBD, around 13 hours 50 minutes by car. Population is 2,281; the median age is 29 and the median household income is $98,904 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $356 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,790. The area shows high coastal erosion risk. 2 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Whitsundays a good suburb?
Whitsundays scores a B (50/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on transit.
Mixed results
2 schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 1144.5 km · 830 min drive to Brisbane
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 41/100 · Crime 35/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 29 · 2,281 residents
Liveability Rating
50 / 100 · Ranked #514 in QLDEach bar is Whitsundays'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 Whitsundays?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
50 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Rental Market
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.
Is Whitsundays safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Whitsundays sits in the low band, with 7 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 40% on the prior year.
7 offences
40.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–20245 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
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
1988–2024Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 1.5 km
- Rate
- -0.05 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -13.1 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Two schools serve Whitsundays, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 22 students across 2 schools (avg 11)
- • Largest: Hamilton Island State School (19 students)
Primary
Walkability
Whitsundays is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the suburb there are 1 supermarket, 3 parks and 14 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
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 Whitsundays.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 26
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
Whitsundays is home to about 2,300 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 29 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $99,000 a year, with unemployment at 1.1%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,281
Median Age
29
Median Household Income
$98,904/yr
Census Median Rent
$356/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,790/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$48,984/yr
Unemployment Rate
1.1%
Unoccupied Dwellings
17.6%
Total Dwellings
131
Owner-Occupier Rate
33.6%
Houses
21.4%
Rental Stress
18.7%
Mortgage Stress
21.7%
Work From Home
3.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 46.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 57.6%
- Employment Rate
- 69.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 58.7%
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.
363 residents (15.9%) 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.
18.9% of residents (426) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (134).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,255 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 (21 of 1,526).
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.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 1,680 people work here; 1,526 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.1 per resident). At least 9% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
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.
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, 9.5 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 105 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 1.5 km
- 4.4 km 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."
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 Whitsundays?
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 2,281 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.
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Compare Whitsundays 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 Whitsundays
Is Whitsundays a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Whitsundays is low (35/100, ranked against other QLD suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Whitsundays?
Whitsundays has a moderate recorded bushfire history (41/100, 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 Whitsundays a good place to live?
Whitsundays has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (50/100), 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 Whitsundays?
Whitsundays, QLD had a population of 2,281 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Whitsundays, QLD?
The postcode for Whitsundays, QLD is 4802.
How far is Whitsundays from Brisbane?
Whitsundays is 1,144 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 830 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Whitsundays?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Whitsundays was $98,904 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 Whitsundays?
There are too few current rental listings in Whitsundays for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $356, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Whitsundays?
The median age of residents in Whitsundays was 29 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Whitsundays at risk of bushfire?
Whitsundays has a moderate recorded bushfire history (41/100). 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.
How are the schools in Whitsundays?
There are 2 schools inside the Whitsundays boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
What is the weather like in Whitsundays?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Whitsundays, Hamilton Island (9.5 km away), 1,708 mm of rain a year over 101 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Whitsundays?
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 Whitsundays belong to?
Whitsundays sits within the Whitsunday local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Whitsundays?
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 Whitsundays?
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 Whitsundays in?
Whitsundays 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
- 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
- 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.