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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Macleay Island is a regional centre in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,193, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 37 km from the Brisbane CBD, Macleay Island is a regional area in Queensland. The median household income is $39,260 per year.
Lower income levels in Macleay Island typically translate to more affordable entry points for investors. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Macleay Island. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Macleay Island on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Macleay Island is a smaller community of 3,193 — about 58% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Macleay Island's median household income of $39,260/year is 57% below the Queensland suburb median ($90,298) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median weekly rent of $260 equates to $1,127/month — about 125% of the median mortgage repayment of $900/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. At 37 km from Brisbane, Macleay Island is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price.
Regional property can deliver strong cash-flow yields but liquidity is tighter — plan for longer hold periods and verify local employment stability. Local rents consume roughly 34% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Macleay Island stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Macleay Island sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Macleay Island | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,193 | 5,474 | -42% |
| Median household income | $39,260/yr | $90,298/yr | -57% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $260 | $385 | -32% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $900 | $1,733 | -48% |
| Distance to CBD | 37 km | 62 km | -40% |
| Separate houses | 82% | 77% | +5pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Macleay Island — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: household incomes 57% below the QLD median ($39,260 vs $90,298) means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $260/week (~$1,127/month) covers 125% of the $900/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 82% houses in a 3,193-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Macleay Island property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Macleay Island are modest for 2026 — incomes 57% below the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 3,193 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~125% of the typical mortgage ($1,127/month rent vs $900/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 39/100 places Macleay Island in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Macleay Island scores 39/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,193, median household income of $39,260/year and median weekly rent of $260. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Macleay Island are a median household income of $39,260/year, a dwelling mix that is 82% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Macleay Island has a usual resident population of approximately 3,193, compared with a Queensland suburb median of 5,474 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Macleay Island sits 37 km straight-line from the Brisbane CBD. This is an outer-metro location; local employment and infrastructure announcements tend to move prices more than CBD connectivity alone.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $260 in Macleay Island, equating to approximately $13,520/year in gross rental income (state median $385/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Macleay Island is $900, or approximately $10,800/year (vs $1,733/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $260 works out to $1,127/month, covering 125% of the median mortgage repayment of $900/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $227/month, so on these numbers Macleay Island leans cash-flow-positive before accounting for strata, council rates, insurance and maintenance. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (3,193 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $900 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($39,260 vs $90,298 state median), the broader Queensland market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.