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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Sunshine Beach is a coastal suburb in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,480, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 119 km from the Brisbane CBD, Sunshine Beach is a coastal area in Queensland. The median household income is $90,220 per year.
Sunshine Beach benefits from a high-income resident base, supporting premium property pricing. The coastal setting provides a lifestyle factor that underpins property values.
Official Australia Post postcode for Sunshine Beach. 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 Sunshine Beach 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.
Sunshine Beach is a smaller community of 2,480 — about 45% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. At $90,220/year, household income in Sunshine Beach is within 0% of the Queensland median ($90,298), placing the suburb firmly in the state's mainstream demographic band. Median weekly rent of $495 equates to $2,145/month — about 99% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Sunshine Beach is 119 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 37% 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.
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 29% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Sunshine Beach stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Sunshine Beach sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Sunshine Beach | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,480 | 5,474 | -55% |
| Median household income | $90,220/yr | $90,298/yr | 0% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $495 | $385 | +29% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,167 | $1,733 | +25% |
| Distance to CBD | 119 km | 62 km | +92% |
| Separate houses | 37% | 77% | -40pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Sunshine Beach — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,480 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $495/week (~$2,145/month) covers 99% of the $2,167/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $22/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 37% 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 Sunshine Beach property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Sunshine Beach are modest for 2026 — incomes close to the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 2,480 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~99% of the typical mortgage ($2,145/month rent vs $2,167/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 46/100 places Sunshine Beach in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Sunshine Beach scores 46/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,480, median household income of $90,220/year and median weekly rent of $495. 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 Sunshine Beach are a median household income of $90,220/year, a dwelling mix that is 37% 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.
Sunshine Beach has a usual resident population of approximately 2,480, 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.
Sunshine Beach sits 119 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 $495 in Sunshine Beach, equating to approximately $25,740/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 Sunshine Beach is $2,167, or approximately $26,004/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 $495 works out to $2,145/month, covering 99% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month. That leaves a $22/month shortfall (around $264/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 (2,480 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,167 median mortgage, a unit-heavy dwelling mix (37% 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.