Proserpine, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Proserpine is a sugar town in the Whitsunday region of north Queensland, on the Proserpine River about 125 kilometres north-west of Mackay. The surrounding area is the Country of the Gia people. Its unusual name comes from the Roman goddess Proserpina, applied to the river around 1859 and to the district soon after. British pastoralists settled from the early 1860s, and the local sugar industry took root when a mill was established in the early 1880s, an industry that still anchors the town today. Set just inland from the coast, Proserpine is best known as a gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and Airlie Beach, with the regional Whitsunday Coast Airport carrying visitors to one of Australia's most famous holiday coasts.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Proserpine is more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 890, 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.
Proserpine at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,614
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $1,175
- SEIFA score
- 890
- Coordinates
- -20.4104, 148.5672
Proserpine demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Proserpine 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 mid-life (45–64) at 25%, 36% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 705 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 408 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 773 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 904 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 819 | 23% |
Share of the 3,609 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 440 | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 399 | 29% |
| Rented | 498 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,080 | 78% |
| Townhouses & semis | 87 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 186 | 13% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,381 occupied private dwellings in Proserpine.
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,612
- Median weekly personal income
- $668
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 377 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 121 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 252 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,062 (38%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.1%
- Employed full-time
- 929
- Employed part-time
- 491
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.
Common questions about Proserpine
Where is Proserpine?
Proserpine is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Proserpine?
At the 2021 Census, Proserpine had a population of about 3,614.
Is Proserpine an advantaged area?
Proserpine has an ABS SEIFA score of 890, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 10 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of Australian suburbs.
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