QLD · Sunshine Coast Council
North Maleny, 4552
Current weather
13.7°CClear sky
93% humidity · 8.1 km/h wind · 19.9° / 12° today · 0.5 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- National parks
- High desirability
Suburb profile
In Sunshine Coast, North Maleny keeps a rural calm, a smaller community with room to breathe and a strong local rhythm. Life revolves around the local community, with the wider region offering trips and services when needed. Tree-lined streets and leafy pockets give the suburb a noticeably green, settled character.
An older demographic makes it especially popular with retirees. The pace is unhurried, with local businesses and community spots doing the heavy lifting. Outdoor life is easy here, with generous parks and room for kids, dogs and weekend strolls.
The market sits in a sensible middle ground: not cheap, but fair value for the area. The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
The desirability score is around average, weighed down by weaker local dining and lifestyle amenities and transport and access against similar regional towns, even with safety and parks and green space holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 710
- Median age
- 61
- Median household income / week
- $1,608
- Dwelling vacancy
- 11%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 36 of 328
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,701
- Employment rate
- 44.4%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 16 / 0 / 0
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)
- 5
- Against the person
- 1
- Against property
- 2
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 7
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 710 residents
- State safety percentile
- 1.1th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
- -37.7%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Drug Offences7
- Fraud9
- Other Property Damage8
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)10
- Traffic And Related Offences14
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
Amenities
16 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bbq (2)
- Bench
- Drinking water (2)
- Southern Recreation AreaPark
- Picnic Table (2)
- Playground
- Public toilets
- Shelter
- Slipway
- Swimming pool (3)
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
4 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Manduka Cooperative Nature RefugeNature reserve
- Northern Recreation AreaPark
- Southern Recreation AreaPark
- Spillway Recreation AreaPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 8/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 8/10
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
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Heritage
1 state heritage place
- FairviewState heritage place
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Period: current · Updated on site
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)
- 24
- Parks (OSM)
- 7
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
- 50.1/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 29% of Queensland's suburbs
- National rank
- 1922nd in Australia
- State rank
- 438th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #40 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #146 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 58%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Bbqamenitiesbbq
- Bbqamenitiesbbq
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Drinking wateramenitiesdrinking_water
- Drinking wateramenitiesdrinking_water
- Picnic Tableamenitiespicnic_table
- Picnic Tableamenitiespicnic_table
- Playgroundamenitiesplayground
- Public toiletsamenitiestoilets
- Shelteramenitiesshelter
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Sunshine Coast Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.