Maroochydore, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Maroochydore is the commercial heart of Queensland's Sunshine Coast, set where the Maroochy River meets the Coral Sea about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane. Its name comes from a Yuggera-language word, recorded as Muru-kutchi, said to mean red-bill and to refer to the black swans of the river. Long a holiday destination, it has grown into the region's main business and shopping centre, anchored by the riverside Sunshine Plaza and a busy bus interchange. Visitors come for the patrolled surf beaches, the calm river mouth popular with paddlers and families, and easy access to the wider Sunshine Coast. Coastal cafés, parks, and the foreshore boardwalk round out the laid-back appeal.
Around the national middle
Maroochydore is more socio-economically advantaged than about 50% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 987, 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 Maroochydore 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Maroochydore 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
50/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (50/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
16/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $410 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 16% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 188 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- 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.
Maroochydore at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 20,629
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,360
- SEIFA score
- 987
- Local government area
- Sunshine Coast
- Coordinates
- -26.6552, 153.0847
Map of Maroochydore
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Maroochydore
What it costs to live in Maroochydore and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $410
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 54%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 42%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Maroochydore demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Maroochydore demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Maroochydore 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 young adults (25–44) at 27% and 26% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,227 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,133 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,523 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,159 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 5,588 | 27% |
Share of the 20,630 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,791 | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,920 | 22% |
| Rented | 3,731 | 42% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,322 | 38% |
| Townhouses & semis | 2,137 | 24% |
| Flats & apartments | 3,239 | 37% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 8,854 occupied private dwellings in Maroochydore.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,769
- Median weekly personal income
- $771
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 5,020 (26%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 2,072 (11%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 452 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 9,784 (54%)
- Labour-force participation
- 54.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6%
- Employed full-time
- 5,024
- Employed part-time
- 3,463
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 Maroochydore
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Maroochydore is January (average daytime high around 28.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.4°C). The area receives roughly 1234 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28.4°C | 20.9°C | 136 mm |
| Feb | 28°C | 20.8°C | 187 mm |
| Mar | 27.4°C | 20.2°C | 171 mm |
| Apr | 24.9°C | 17.2°C | 83 mm |
| May | 22.4°C | 14.3°C | 104 mm |
| Jun | 20.5°C | 12.1°C | 62 mm |
| Jul | 20.4°C | 11.2°C | 53 mm |
| Aug | 21.8°C | 11.6°C | 42 mm |
| Sep | 23.8°C | 13.8°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 25.6°C | 16.2°C | 118 mm |
| Nov | 27.4°C | 18.1°C | 94 mm |
| Dec | 28.2°C | 19.9°C | 137 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Maroochydore
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
46 nearbyMaroochy RSL · Wara Sushi · Little Red Dumpling · Duporth Tavern · Hungry Jack's · Pizza Hut
Parks & recreation
113 nearbyAdolph Blanck Park · Jetts Fitness · Legacy BJJ Maroochydore · Rush Adventureland · Fitness Cartel · Goodlife Health Clubs
Shops & groceries
11 nearbyColes · Woolworths · Aldi · Off The Bone Butcher · Banjo's Bakery Cafe · The Source Bulk Foods
Healthcare
10 nearbyMaroochy Day+Night Pharmacy · Chemist Warehouse · Amcal Express · TerryWhite Chemmart · Priceline Pharmacy · Cotton Tree ENT
Schools & education
6 nearbyStella Maris Catholic Primary School · Eden Academy Childcare & Kindergarten · Memorial Park Community Kindergarten · The Industry School · Maroochydore State High School · Maroochydore State School
Things to do
2 nearbyBCC Cinemas Maroochydore · Millwell Road Community Centre
Eat & drink in and around Maroochydore
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- Ali BabaTakeaway
- BellygoodRestaurant
- Cafe 63Café
- CinnabonTakeaway
- Coca BarCafé
- ColumbianCafé
- Corb-nsRestaurant
- Domino'sTakeaway
- Donut KingTakeaway
- Duporth TavernPubduporthtavern.com
- El CaminoRestaurant
- Flinders Lane CafeCafé31 Flinders Lane, Maroochydore
- Giddy GeishaRestaurantFirst Avenue, Maroochydoregiddygeisha.com.au
- Grill'dTakeaway
- Guzman y GomezTakeaway
- Holey MoleyBar
- Hungry Jack'sTakeawayhungryjacks.com.au
- John Kyle EspressoCaféjohnkyleespresso.com.au
- KFCTakeaway
- Kittani CoffeeCafé
- Little Red DumplingRestaurant
- Maroochy RSLRestaurant
- MetropolitanCafé
- Nando'sRestaurant
- Nemo Artisian SushiTakeaway
- Nok's ThaiRestaurant
- Pizza HutRestaurant
- Pum's KitchenRestaurantpumskitchen.com.au
- Red RoosterTakeaway
- Red Sea RestaurantRestaurant
- Shingle InnRestaurant
- Smashed Crab SeafoodTakeaway
- SubwayTakeaway
- Sushi HubRestaurant
- TGI FridaysRestaurant
- The Coffee ClubCafé
- The NinesCafé
- The Sands TavernPub
- Tropicalia Brazilian Cafe & Bar, Latin Dance StudioCafé
- Uptown GastropubRestaurant55 Plaza Parade, Maroochydore
- Urban GardenCafé
- Wara SushiRestaurant
- ZambreroTakeaway
Showing 43 mapped places; more may exist that aren't yet on OpenStreetMap.
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Maroochydore
Lived here or spent time in Maroochydore? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Maroochydore
Is Maroochydore a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability and amenities, Maroochydore rates 52/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Maroochydore?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Maroochydore was $410, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Maroochydore?
Maroochydore is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Sunshine Coast local government area.
What is the population of Maroochydore?
At the 2021 Census, Maroochydore had a population of about 20,629.
Is Maroochydore an advantaged area?
Maroochydore has an ABS SEIFA score of 987, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 50 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 50% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Maroochydore?
Maroochydore has average daytime highs of about 24.9°C and overnight lows of about 16.4°C, with roughly 1,234 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Maroochydore?
Maroochydore is one of the most populous suburbs in Queensland — the 15th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 20,629 usual residents).
Where Maroochydore ranks
Maroochydore appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Queensland#15 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.