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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 8,202, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 88 km from the Brisbane CBD, Mooloolaba is a coastal area in Queensland. The median household income is $78,312 per year.
Mooloolaba has a solid income profile that supports reliable occupancy rates. Seaside positioning attracts both owner-occupiers and holiday rental demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Mooloolaba. 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 2 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Mooloolaba on My School →Estimated 3 parks 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.
Mooloolaba's population of 8,202 sits 50% above the Queensland suburb median of 5,474, giving it a wider tenant and buyer catchment than the average QLD locality. Household income of $78,312/year is 13% below the Queensland median of $90,298, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median weekly rent of $400 equates to $1,733/month — about 98% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,762/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Mooloolaba is 88 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 31% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 77% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.
Coastal markets benefit from lifestyle appeal but require a buffer for higher insurance and occasional weather-driven vacancies. Local rents consume roughly 27% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Mooloolaba stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Mooloolaba sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Mooloolaba | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 8,202 | 5,474 | +50% |
| Median household income | $78,312/yr | $90,298/yr | -13% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $400 | $385 | +4% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,762 | $1,733 | +2% |
| Distance to CBD | 88 km | 62 km | +42% |
| Separate houses | 31% | 77% | -46pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Mooloolaba — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Mooloolaba's 8,202-person market and $78,312 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage: $400/week (~$1,733/month) covers 98% of the $1,762/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $29/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 31% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 77% QLD median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Mooloolaba property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Mooloolaba are modest for 2026 — incomes 13% below the QLD median of $90,298 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~98% of the typical mortgage ($1,733/month rent vs $1,762/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 50/100 places Mooloolaba in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Mooloolaba scores 50/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 8,202, median household income of $78,312/year and median weekly rent of $400. 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 Mooloolaba are a median household income of $78,312/year, a dwelling mix that is 31% separate houses, roughly 2 schools and 3 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.
Mooloolaba has a usual resident population of approximately 8,202, compared with a Queensland suburb median of 5,474 — placing it in the upper 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.
Mooloolaba sits 88 km straight-line from the Brisbane CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $400 in Mooloolaba, equating to approximately $20,800/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 Mooloolaba is $1,762, or approximately $21,144/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 $400 works out to $1,733/month, covering 98% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,762/month. That leaves a $29/month shortfall (around $348/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 interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,762 median mortgage, a unit-heavy dwelling mix (31% houses) where body-corporate costs and apartment supply affect resale, 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.