Mapleton, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mapleton crowns the Blackall Range behind Queensland's Sunshine Coast, about 11 kilometres west of Nambour and 107 kilometres north of Brisbane, at around 400 metres elevation. The cool tableland was long a gathering place for Kabi Kabi and Wakka Wakka people during the bunya-nut season. Known as Luton Vale until settlers chose the name Mapleton in 1894 - after Mapleton in Derbyshire, England - the village grew on red cedar and beech logging, then fruit, pineapples and dairying, served by a tramway from 1915 to 1944. Today it is edged by Mapleton Falls and Kondalilla national parks, whose waterfalls, rainforest walks and range views draw visitors up from the coast.
Around the national middle
Mapleton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 47% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 982, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Mapleton a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Mapleton from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
47/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (47/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
32/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $350 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 32% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Mapleton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,661
- Median age
- 59
- Median weekly household income
- $1,089
- SEIFA score
- 982
- Local government area
- Sunshine Coast
- Coordinates
- -26.6296, 152.8613
Map of Mapleton
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Mapleton
What it costs to live in Mapleton and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $350
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,534
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 77%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 20%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Mapleton demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Mapleton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mapleton using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 36% and 24% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 194 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 106 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 251 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 508 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 605 | 36% |
Share of the 1,664 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 386 | 54% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 161 | 23% |
| Rented | 143 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 621 | 87% |
| Townhouses & semis | 14 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 714 occupied private dwellings in Mapleton.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,390
- Median weekly personal income
- $591
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 362 (24%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 69 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 28 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 752 (52%)
- Labour-force participation
- 42.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.4%
- Employed full-time
- 247
- Employed part-time
- 260
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Mapleton
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Mapleton is January (average daytime high around 27.5°C) and the coolest is July (around 18.5°C). The area receives roughly 1153 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.5°C | 19°C | 140 mm |
| Feb | 26.9°C | 19°C | 179 mm |
| Mar | 26°C | 18.4°C | 150 mm |
| Apr | 23.1°C | 15.2°C | 70 mm |
| May | 20.6°C | 12.3°C | 90 mm |
| Jun | 18.5°C | 10.1°C | 51 mm |
| Jul | 18.5°C | 9.2°C | 46 mm |
| Aug | 20.2°C | 9.9°C | 36 mm |
| Sep | 22.7°C | 12°C | 45 mm |
| Oct | 24.8°C | 14.4°C | 120 mm |
| Nov | 26.6°C | 16.3°C | 92 mm |
| Dec | 27.6°C | 18°C | 134 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Mapleton
Is Mapleton a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Mapleton rates 42/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Mapleton?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Mapleton was $350, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,534. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Mapleton?
Mapleton is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Sunshine Coast local government area.
What is the population of Mapleton?
At the 2021 Census, Mapleton had a population of about 1,661.
Is Mapleton an advantaged area?
Mapleton has an ABS SEIFA score of 982, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 47 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 47% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Mapleton?
Mapleton has average daytime highs of about 23.6°C and overnight lows of about 14.5°C, with roughly 1,153 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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