Suburb overview
West Mackay is a coastal suburb in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 6,536, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 804 km from the Brisbane CBD, West Mackay is a coastal area in Queensland. The median household income is $88,192 per year.
Location
Key indicators
Postcode
4740
Postcode for West Mackay, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
6,536
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$580/wk
Median weekly rent — as at Mar 2026, Residential Tenancies Authority (Qld) (CC BY 4.0).
Distance to CBD
804 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,595/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
70% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why people like living in West Mackay
- Regional location about 804 km from Brisbane.
- Beach lifestyle with coastal walks and outdoor recreation on the doorstep.
Who West Mackay suits
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.
- Coastal lifestyle attracts renters and owner-occupiers alike.
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
6,536 residents places West Mackay squarely in the middle of the Queensland suburb size distribution (state median 5,474), with market depth comparable to most QLD localities. At $88,192/year, household income in West Mackay is within 2% of the Queensland median ($90,298), placing the suburb firmly in the state's mainstream demographic band. Median rent of $580/week (as at Mar 2026, Residential Tenancies Authority (Qld)) equates to roughly $2,513/month — about 158% of the $1,595/month median mortgage repayment recorded at the 2021 Census. On those figures rental income covers most or all of the recorded repayment, but repayments on new loans have risen with interest rates since 2021, so re-run the coverage at today's rates before treating this as a cash-flow suburb. West Mackay is 804 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Investment tip
Coastal markets benefit from lifestyle appeal but require a buffer for higher insurance and occasional weather-driven vacancies. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 19% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
West Mackay vs Queensland median
How West Mackay stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean West Mackay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | West Mackay | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,536 | 5,474 | +19% |
| Median household income | $88,192/yr | $90,298/yr | -2% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $320 | $385 | -17% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,595 | $1,733 | -8% |
| Distance to CBD | 804 km | 62 km | +1197% |
| Separate houses | 70% | 77% | -7pp |
Investor checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for West Mackay — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 6,536 residents — 119% of the QLD suburb median (5,474).
- Purchasing power: median household income $88,192/year (-2% vs Queensland suburb median of $90,298).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $320/week rent (≈ $1,387/month) covered ~87% of the $1,595/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 804 km straight-line from Brisbane (state suburb median 62 km).
- Dwelling mix: 70% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 77% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$160/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,595/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 19% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment strategy
Solid buy-and-hold profile: a population of 6,536 and household income close to the QLD median ($88,192 vs $90,298) give the market enough depth for patient capital growth without the premium entry price of inner suburbs.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $320/week (~$1,387/month) covered 87% of the $1,595/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $208/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
With 70% houses in a 6,536-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Risk factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $1,595/month median mortgage in West Mackay means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $160/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Commute distance: at 804 km from the nearest CBD, West Mackay depends on local employment rather than city-driven commuter demand, which amplifies the market's sensitivity to regional industry slowdowns.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in West Mackay regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in West Mackay with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
Run the numbers on a West Mackay property
Walk the journey to a place like West Mackay
Seven guided stops — government schemes compared for your exact numbers, a real budget, suburb shortlisting and every contract deadline tracked. Free, no signup to start.
Start your journey near West Mackay →2026 outlook
Property values in West Mackay should track the wider Queensland market through 2026, with the $88,192/year median household income (close to the $90,298 state median) keeping the suburb firmly mid-pack. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~87% of the typical mortgage ($1,387/month rent vs $1,595/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for West Mackay is balanced heading into the second half of 2026, based on its income, rent and mortgage profile relative to the Queensland median.
Frequently asked questions
Is West Mackay a good suburb for investment?
Whether West Mackay suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 6,536, a median household income of $88,192/year and median weekly rent of $320. Weigh those against your goal — cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — each of which we break down with suburb-specific ABS numbers elsewhere on this page.
What drives property demand in West Mackay?
The main demand drivers in West Mackay are a median household income of $88,192/year, a dwelling mix that is 70% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of West Mackay?
West Mackay has a usual resident population of approximately 6,536, 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 West Mackay from the Brisbane CBD?
West Mackay 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 West Mackay?
The median weekly rent in West Mackay is $580 (as at Mar 2026, Residential Tenancies Authority (Qld)), equating to approximately $30,160/year in gross rental income. Confirm against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
What is the typical mortgage repayment in West Mackay?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in West Mackay is $1,595, or approximately $19,140/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 West Mackay cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $320 works out to $1,387/month, covering 87% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,595/month. That leaves a $208/month shortfall (around $2,496/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 West Mackay?
The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,595 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 West Mackay profile
The population figure on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census. The postcode comes from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. The dwelling mix is from the ABS 2021 Census. The median household income is the ABS 2021 Census median weekly household income, annualised. Distance to the CBD is calculated from the suburb's ABS centroid. The Census median rent and mortgage figures are 2021 figures and are labelled as such wherever they appear — they are five years old and have moved substantially since. The current median weekly rent in Key indicators is a genuine recent figure from Residential Tenancies Authority (Qld) (Mar 2026), published under a Creative Commons licence and dated on the page. We do not publish an investment score or school/park counts for this suburb. See our methodology and data sources for exactly what's measured and what's estimated.