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Suburb Insights · QLD 4744

Moranbah, QLD 4744 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Moranbah is a coastal suburb in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 9,425, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 804 km from the Brisbane CBD, Moranbah is a coastal area in Queensland. The median household income is $160,108 per year.

Investment Score

66 / 100 Good

Moranbah benefits from a high-income resident base, supporting premium property pricing. Seaside positioning attracts both owner-occupiers and holiday rental demand.

Location

Brisbane
Moranbah
Queensland · 4744
804 km from Brisbane CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
4744

Official Australia Post postcode for Moranbah. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
9,425

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$111/wk

Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.

Median household income
$160,108/yr

Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.

Distance to CBD
804 km

Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
2

Estimated 2 schools within or near this suburb.

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Parks & green spaces
4

Estimated 4 parks and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$1,300/mo

Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.

Home type
58% houses

Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.

Why People Like Living in Moranbah

Who Moranbah Suits

👨‍👩‍👧FamiliesSchool count or dwelling mix is lighter here.
📊InvestorsRental coverage trails the state average.
🏡First-home buyersEntry costs sit at or below the Queensland median.
💼ProfessionalsAround 804 km from the CBD with good access.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Mortgage costs are lower than the Queensland median, improving cash-flow margins.
  • Local parks and reserves (around 4) add to liveability.
  • Solid transport links into employment hubs.

Cons

  • Long distance to the CBD (804 km) — plan for commute time or local employment.
  • Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.

Investment Insight

Moranbah's population of 9,425 sits 72% above the Queensland suburb median of 5,474, giving it a wider tenant and buyer catchment than the average QLD locality. Median household income of $160,108/year runs 77% above the Queensland suburb median of $90,298, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Weekly rent of $111 covers just 37% of the median $1,300/month mortgage repayment, leaving a $819/month gap — investors should only pursue this suburb with a clear capital-growth thesis and sufficient external income to fund the shortfall. Moranbah is 804 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 58% 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.

Investment Tip

This suburb can suit investors targeting renter demand driven by lifestyle. Insurance, climate risk, and seasonal rental patterns all warrant a close look. Local rents consume roughly 4% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Moranbah vs Queensland Median

How Moranbah stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Moranbah sits above the state median; negative means below.

MetricMoranbahQLD medianΔ vs state
Population9,4255,474+72%
Median household income$160,108/yr$90,298/yr+77%
Median rent (weekly)$111$385-71%
Median mortgage (monthly)$1,300$1,733-25%
Distance to CBD804 km62 km+1197%
Separate houses58%77%-19pp

Investor Checklist

Pre-inspection briefing for Moranbah — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.

Investment Strategy

Buy & Hold

Solid buy-and-hold profile: a population of 9,425 and household income close to the QLD median ($160,108 vs $90,298) give the market enough depth for patient capital growth without the premium entry price of inner suburbs.

Rental Yield

Weak cash flow: $111/week rent covers only 37% of the $1,300/month median mortgage — a $819/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.

Renovation / Flip

Only 58% 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.

Risk Factors

Run the numbers on a Moranbah property

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30-year projections for Moranbah

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Moderate Rental Demand: Moderate Investor Sentiment: Moderate

Property values in Moranbah should track the wider Queensland market through 2026, with the $160,108/year median household income (77% above the $90,298 state median) keeping the suburb firmly mid-pack. Rental coverage runs at ~37% of the typical mortgage ($481/month rent vs $1,300/month repayment), meaning investors will rely on capital growth rather than yield. The EquitySight investment score of 66/100 places Moranbah in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Moranbah a good suburb for investment?

Moranbah scores 66/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 9,425, median household income of $160,108/year and median weekly rent of $111. 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.

What drives property demand in Moranbah?

The main demand drivers in Moranbah are an above-state-median household income of $160,108/year, a dwelling mix that is 58% separate houses, roughly 2 schools and 4 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.

What is the population of Moranbah?

Moranbah has a usual resident population of approximately 9,425, 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.

How far is Moranbah from the Brisbane CBD?

Moranbah sits 804 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.

What is the median rent in Moranbah?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $111 in Moranbah, equating to approximately $5,772/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.

What is the typical mortgage repayment in Moranbah?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Moranbah is $1,300, or approximately $15,600/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.

Is Moranbah cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $111 works out to $481/month, covering 37% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,300/month. That leaves a $819/month shortfall (around $9,828/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.

What are the main risks of investing in Moranbah?

The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,300 median mortgage, the broader Queensland market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.

How we built this Moranbah profile

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.

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