Sarina, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Sarina is a coastal town in the Mackay region of Queensland, about 34 kilometres south of Mackay and roughly 300 kilometres north of Rockhampton, set on Plane Creek not far from the Coral Sea. It lies on the country of the Yuwi people, who spoke the Yuwibara language. First known as Plane Creek, the town was renamed Sarina in 1907 after nearby Sarina Inlet, which a surveyor is said to have named after a figure from Greek mythology. Sugar has long been the mainstay, and the Plane Creek mill still processes local cane. Visitors stop at the Sarina Sugar Shed, a working miniature mill and distillery, and at the Buffy the Big Cane Toad statue, while Sarina Beach lies a short drive to the east.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Sarina is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 908, 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 Sarina 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Sarina 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
14/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (14/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% 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.
Sarina at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,619
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,605
- SEIFA score
- 908
- Local government area
- Mackay
- Coordinates
- -21.4358, 149.1637
Map of Sarina
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Sarina
What it costs to live in Sarina and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 70%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 26%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Sarina demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Sarina demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Sarina 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 27% and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,102 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 689 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,299 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,529 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 998 | 18% |
Share of the 5,617 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 664 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 696 | 36% |
| Rented | 499 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,777 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 127 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 20 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,949 occupied private dwellings in Sarina.
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,917
- Median weekly personal income
- $710
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 370 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 149 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 533 (9%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,585 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 5%
- Employed full-time
- 1,564
- Employed part-time
- 678
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.
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Common questions about Sarina
Is Sarina 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, Sarina rates 25/100 overall (Lower 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 Sarina?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Sarina was $300, 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 Sarina?
Sarina is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Mackay local government area.
What is the population of Sarina?
At the 2021 Census, Sarina had a population of about 5,619.
Is Sarina an advantaged area?
Sarina has an ABS SEIFA score of 908, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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