suburb.guide

QLD · Noosa Council

Lake Macdonald, 4563

Current weather

15.5°CClear sky

91% humidity · 3.3 km/h wind · 22° / 14.4° today · 1.1 mm rain

Updated

Desirability score

41.6/100
Average

Top 49% of Queensland's suburbs

62% data confidence

How this score is calculated
  • High desirability
  • Green suburb
What Lake Macdonald is known for: High desirability, Green suburb

Suburb profile

Lake Macdonald offers a slower smaller community life in Noosa, with open surrounds and a close-knit community feel. Life revolves around the local community, with the wider region offering trips and services when needed. The landscape itself is part of the lifestyle: open paddocks, big skies and room to breathe.

An older demographic makes it especially popular with retirees, with multiple generations sharing the same neighbourhood. Everyday life leans local, with a handful of trusted shops, a familiar main street and neighbours who know your name. Housing is well-priced for what you get: space, location and everyday convenience.

Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.

On the desirability index, the suburb sits around average overall, mainly because local dining and lifestyle amenities and parks and green space lag similar regional towns, despite relative strength in housing affordability and safety. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.

Population

Population
1,352
Median age
49
Median household income / week
$1,771
Dwelling vacancy
7.3%
Unoccupied private dwellings
38 of 522
Median monthly mortgage
$1,733
Employment rate
52.8%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
26 / 0 / 7

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
27
Against the person
4
Against property
9
Rate per 1,000 residents
20
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 338 residents
State safety percentile
12.8th (lower crime is better)
Increase (daily rate, partial year)
+1.6%

Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.

Reported offences by period

Most common offence types

  • Drug Offences26
  • Good Order Offences19
  • Other Property Damage14
  • Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)33
  • Traffic And Related Offences56

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Crime rate and year-on-year trend

Data sources & freshness

  • QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates

Planning & development

Development applications from QLD coordinated projects (lodged 2020–2026).

1 planning-related records

Other· 1 proposal
  • Six Mile Creek Dam Safety Upgrade Project
    Seqwater proposes to upgrade Six Mile Creek Dam to meet modern safety standards.Completed IAR project

Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)

Development and planning activity

Data sources & freshness

Amenities

12 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km

  • Bench (2)
  • Drinking water
  • Parking (2)
  • Public toilets
  • Shelter (3)
  • Slipway (2)
  • Swimming pool

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh

Parks & reserves

2 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Cod ParkPark
  • Kookaburra ParkPark

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic (SEIFA)

IRSAD decile (2021)
7/10
IRSD decile (2021)
6/10

SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)

Data sources & freshness

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
No overlay at centroid

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Bushfire hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site

Green cover

Parks & woodland (OSM)
2
Parks (OSM)
2

OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)

Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh

Desirability Index

Desirability score
41.6/100 — Average
State standing
Top 49% of Queensland's suburbs
National rank
3198th in Australia
State rank
736th in QLD
Peer rank
#111 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
Cohort rank
#341 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
62%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics

Recent changes

  • Benchamenitiesbench
  • Benchamenitiesbench
  • Drinking wateramenitiesdrinking_water
  • Parkingamenitiesparking
  • Parkingamenitiesparking
  • Public toiletsamenitiestoilets
  • Shelteramenitiesshelter
  • Shelteramenitiesshelter
  • Shelteramenitiesshelter
  • Slipwayamenitiesslipway

Data sources & freshness

More in Noosa Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.