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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
South Maclean is a regional centre in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,232, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 36 km from the Brisbane CBD, South Maclean is a regional area in Queensland. The median household income is $107,172 per year.
Above-average earnings in South Maclean support sustained property values. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for South Maclean. 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 South Maclean 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.
South Maclean is a smaller community of 2,232 — about 41% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $107,172/year runs 19% 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. Median weekly rent of $470 equates to $2,037/month — about 104% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,950/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. At 36 km from Brisbane, South Maclean is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price. Separate houses make up 95% of dwellings — 18 percentage points above the Queensland median of 77% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
This suburb suits yield-focused investors who are comfortable with lower liquidity. Employment concentration and local population trends matter more here than in metro markets. Local rents consume roughly 23% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How South Maclean stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean South Maclean sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | South Maclean | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,232 | 5,474 | -59% |
| Median household income | $107,172/yr | $90,298/yr | +19% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $470 | $385 | +22% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,950 | $1,733 | +13% |
| Distance to CBD | 36 km | 62 km | -42% |
| Separate houses | 95% | 77% | +18pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for South Maclean — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,232 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $470/week (~$2,037/month) covers 104% of the $1,950/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 95% houses in a 2,232-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 South Maclean property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for South Maclean are modest for 2026 — incomes 19% above the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 2,232 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~104% of the typical mortgage ($2,037/month rent vs $1,950/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 55/100 places South Maclean 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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South Maclean scores 55/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,232, median household income of $107,172/year and median weekly rent of $470. 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 South Maclean are an above-state-median household income of $107,172/year, a dwelling mix that is 95% 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.
South Maclean has a usual resident population of approximately 2,232, 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.
South Maclean sits 36 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 $470 in South Maclean, equating to approximately $24,440/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 South Maclean is $1,950, or approximately $23,400/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 $470 works out to $2,037/month, covering 104% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,950/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $87/month, so on these numbers South Maclean 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 (2,232 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,950 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.
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.