Noosa Heads, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Noosa Heads is a resort town on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, roughly 135 km north of Brisbane. It is the best-known centre of the Noosa area, framed by the headlands and walking tracks of Noosa National Park and the sheltered, north-facing sands of Main Beach — a setting that makes it a popular surfing and holiday destination. The upmarket Hastings Street, running close to the beach, forms its dining and shopping precinct. The locality took the name Noosa Heads in 1988, and the surrounding region is the traditional Country of the Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) people.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Noosa Heads is more socio-economically advantaged than about 87% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1063, 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 Noosa Heads 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 2 components we can score for Noosa Heads 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
87/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (87/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
4/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $550 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 4% 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.
Noosa Heads at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,120
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $1,843
- SEIFA score
- 1063
- Local government area
- Noosa
- Coordinates
- -26.4001, 153.0915
Map of Noosa Heads
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Noosa Heads
What it costs to live in Noosa Heads and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $550
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,167
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Noosa Heads demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Noosa Heads demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Noosa Heads 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 32% and 30% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 644 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 370 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 903 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,542 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,661 | 32% |
Share of the 5,120 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 978 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 471 | 24% |
| Rented | 483 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,430 | 72% |
| Townhouses & semis | 167 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 382 | 19% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,996 occupied private dwellings in Noosa Heads.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,228
- Median weekly personal income
- $909
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,461 (30%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 424 (9%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 32 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,763 (64%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.7%
- Employed full-time
- 1,030
- Employed part-time
- 938
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 Noosa Heads
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Noosa Heads is January (average daytime high around 28.1°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.4°C). The area receives roughly 1191 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28.1°C | 21.2°C | 120 mm |
| Feb | 27.7°C | 21.1°C | 207 mm |
| Mar | 27.2°C | 20.5°C | 162 mm |
| Apr | 24.9°C | 17.6°C | 76 mm |
| May | 22.5°C | 14.6°C | 97 mm |
| Jun | 20.6°C | 12.3°C | 56 mm |
| Jul | 20.4°C | 11.3°C | 52 mm |
| Aug | 21.8°C | 11.8°C | 38 mm |
| Sep | 23.6°C | 14°C | 43 mm |
| Oct | 25.4°C | 16.4°C | 119 mm |
| Nov | 27.1°C | 18.4°C | 98 mm |
| Dec | 27.9°C | 20.2°C | 123 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Noosa Heads
Is Noosa Heads 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, Noosa Heads rates 59/100 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 Noosa Heads?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Noosa Heads was $550, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Noosa Heads?
Noosa Heads is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Noosa local government area.
What is the population of Noosa Heads?
At the 2021 Census, Noosa Heads had a population of about 5,120.
Is Noosa Heads an advantaged area?
Noosa Heads has an ABS SEIFA score of 1063, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 87 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 87% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Noosa Heads?
Noosa Heads has average daytime highs of about 24.8°C and overnight lows of about 16.6°C, with roughly 1,191 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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