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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Meldale is a regional centre in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 230, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 49 km from the Brisbane CBD, Meldale is a regional area in Queensland. The median household income is $58,500 per year.
Household earnings in Meldale are below the state average, which may affect long-term capital growth. Distance from major centres is a consideration, though regional markets can offer higher rental yields.
Official Australia Post postcode for Meldale. 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 Meldale 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.
Meldale is a smaller community of 230 — about 4% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Meldale's median household income of $58,500/year is 35% 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. Rent of $350/week (70% coverage of the $2,158/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $641/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 49 km from Brisbane, Meldale is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price.
How Meldale stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Meldale sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Meldale | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 230 | 5,474 | -96% |
| Median household income | $58,500/yr | $90,298/yr | -35% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $350 | $385 | -9% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,158 | $1,733 | +25% |
| Distance to CBD | 49 km | 62 km | -21% |
| Separate houses | 84% | 77% | +7pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Meldale — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 230 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $350/week covers 70% of a $2,158/month mortgage, leaving a $641/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 84% houses in a 230-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 Meldale property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Meldale are modest for 2026 — incomes 35% below the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 230 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~70% of the typical mortgage ($1,517/month rent vs $2,158/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 30/100 places Meldale 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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Meldale scores 30/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 230, median household income of $58,500/year and median weekly rent of $350. 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 Meldale are a median household income of $58,500/year, a dwelling mix that is 84% 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.
Meldale has a usual resident population of approximately 230, 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.
Meldale sits 49 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 $350 in Meldale, equating to approximately $18,200/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 Meldale is $2,158, or approximately $25,896/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 $350 works out to $1,517/month, covering 70% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,158/month. That leaves a $641/month shortfall (around $7,692/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. 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 (230 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,158 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($58,500 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.