ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Whitsundays is a regional centre in Queensland, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,281, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 905 km from the Brisbane CBD, Whitsundays is a regional area in Queensland. The median household income is $98,904 per year.
Strong household incomes in Whitsundays underpin solid property demand. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Whitsundays. 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 Whitsundays 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.
Whitsundays is a smaller community of 2,281 — about 42% of the Queensland suburb median (5,474) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Households here earn $98,904/year on average — 10% above the QLD suburb median of $90,298 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Rent of $356/week (86% coverage of the $1,790/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $247/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Whitsundays is 905 km from Brisbane, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 18% 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.
Regional property can deliver strong cash-flow yields but liquidity is tighter — plan for longer hold periods and verify local employment stability. Local rents consume roughly 19% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Whitsundays stacks up against the median of all Queensland suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Whitsundays sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Whitsundays | QLD median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,281 | 5,474 | -58% |
| Median household income | $98,904/yr | $90,298/yr | +10% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $356 | $385 | -8% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,790 | $1,733 | +3% |
| Distance to CBD | 905 km | 62 km | +1360% |
| Separate houses | 18% | 77% | -59pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Whitsundays — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,281 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Queensland market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $356/week (~$1,543/month) covers 86% of the $1,790/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $247/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 18% 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 Whitsundays property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Whitsundays are modest for 2026 — incomes 10% above the QLD median of $90,298 and a population of 2,281 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~86% of the typical mortgage ($1,543/month rent vs $1,790/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 42/100 places Whitsundays 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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Whitsundays scores 42/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,281, median household income of $98,904/year and median weekly rent of $356. 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 Whitsundays are an above-state-median household income of $98,904/year, a dwelling mix that is 18% 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.
Whitsundays has a usual resident population of approximately 2,281, 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.
Whitsundays sits 905 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 $356 in Whitsundays, equating to approximately $18,512/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 Whitsundays is $1,790, or approximately $21,480/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 $356 works out to $1,543/month, covering 86% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,790/month. That leaves a $247/month shortfall (around $2,964/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 (2,281 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,790 median mortgage, a unit-heavy dwelling mix (18% 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.