Rainbow Beach, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Rainbow Beach is a coastal town in the Gympie Region of Queensland, about 240 kilometres north of Brisbane on the shore of Wide Bay. It is named for the multicoloured sand dunes that rise behind the beach, their reds, yellows and ochres coming from minerals in the sand. In Kabi Kabi tradition the colours are explained by the story of Yiningie, a spirit represented by a rainbow. The town sits beside the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park and is a popular gateway to K'gari (Fraser Island), reached by vehicle ferry. Established in 1969 to house mineral-sand miners, it is now mainly a holiday town, drawing far more visitors each year than its small resident population.
Less advantaged than the national average
Rainbow Beach is more socio-economically advantaged than about 22% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 934, 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.
Rainbow Beach at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,220
- Median age
- 56
- Median weekly household income
- $972
- SEIFA score
- 934
- Coordinates
- -25.9055, 153.0748
Rainbow Beach demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Rainbow Beach 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 35%, 30% of homes are rented, and 17% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 141 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 78 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 201 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 431 | 35% |
| Seniors (65+) | 365 | 30% |
Share of the 1,216 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 228 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 104 | 21% |
| Rented | 154 | 30% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 359 | 70% |
| Townhouses & semis | 81 | 16% |
| Flats & apartments | 43 | 8% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 513 occupied private dwellings in Rainbow Beach.
- Median weekly rent
- $280
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,605
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,271
- Median weekly personal income
- $602
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 177 (17%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 40 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 30 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 421 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.2%
- Employed full-time
- 228
- Employed part-time
- 225
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 Rainbow Beach
Where is Rainbow Beach?
Rainbow Beach is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Rainbow Beach?
At the 2021 Census, Rainbow Beach had a population of about 1,220.
Is Rainbow Beach an advantaged area?
Rainbow Beach has an ABS SEIFA score of 934, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 22 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 22% of Australian suburbs.
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