Sunshine Beach, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Sunshine Beach is more socio-economically advantaged than about 83% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1049, 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.
Sunshine Beach at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,480
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,735
- SEIFA score
- 1049
- Coordinates
- -26.4038, 153.1054
Sunshine Beach demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Sunshine 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 33%, 31% of homes are rented, and 29% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 317 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 222 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 518 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 807 | 33% |
| Seniors (65+) | 611 | 25% |
Share of the 2,475 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 428 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 259 | 25% |
| Rented | 318 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 587 | 57% |
| Townhouses & semis | 176 | 17% |
| Flats & apartments | 268 | 26% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,034 occupied private dwellings in Sunshine Beach.
- Median weekly rent
- $495
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,129
- Median weekly personal income
- $902
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 682 (29%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 212 (9%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 26 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,429 (69%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.5%
- Employed full-time
- 529
- Employed part-time
- 505
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 Sunshine Beach
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Sunshine Beach 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).
Common questions about Sunshine Beach
Where is Sunshine Beach?
Sunshine Beach is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Sunshine Beach?
At the 2021 Census, Sunshine Beach had a population of about 2,480.
Is Sunshine Beach an advantaged area?
Sunshine Beach has an ABS SEIFA score of 1049, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 83 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 83% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Sunshine Beach?
Sunshine Beach 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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