QLD · Douglas Council

Bonnie Doon, 4873

Est. population · Jun 2025

579

Growth (1 yr)

+0.9%

Growth (5 yr)

+4.7%

Median age

39

Median income

$1,690/wk

Employment rate

68.3%

University qualified

9.6%

Work from home

7.1%

Languages at home

9.5%non-English

Most common: German, Italian

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

47.8/100
Average

Top 30% of Queensland's suburbs

Verified 78% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Coastal
  • Agricultural
What Bonnie Doon is known for: Coastal, Agricultural

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Bonnie Doon, QLD suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Cite this suburb snapshot

Suburb Guide, “Bonnie Doon, QLD Suburb Guide”, updated 2 October 2026, https://suburb.guide/qld/bonnie-doon-qld

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Suburb profile

Bonnie Doon is a coastal town in Queensland, in Douglas Council.

Employment is stronger than in comparable places, with employment 20% above the peer median. Green cover is an exceptional strength, well above typical levels for coastal towns. Space is a strength, but car dependence is high. The clearer weaknesses are thinner local amenities and fewer university qualifications, with local amenities 98% below the peer median.

Overall, Bonnie Doon suits people prioritising employment over local amenities.

Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Coastal town · compared with coastal towns in Queensland (89)

Strengths

  • Employment is a relative strength
  • Green cover is stronger than in comparable places

Weaknesses

  • Everyday shops and services are sparse
  • University qualifications sit well below the peer median

What stands out

  • Space is a strength, but car dependence is high

Who it suits

  • Families
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • StudentsInsufficient data
  • Budget buyersInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How Bonnie Doon compares

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

—

No data available

Median rent (Census)

$405/wk

2021 Census median weekly rent

Population (ERP)

579

+0.9% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

6.8%

Census unoccupied dwellings

Livability profile

Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Desirability

#18

among Coastal & beach · Established

Crime rate

36th

percentile in state (higher = more crime)

Pop. growth

38th

percentile in QLD

Rented dwellings

17%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

5/10

national SEIFA decile

Population growth

Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years

Housing mix

Dwelling types from the 2021 Census

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Desirability

Ranks & confidence
Desirability score
47.8/100 — Average
State standing
Top 30% of Queensland's suburbs
National rank
2462nd in Australia
State rank
450th in QLD
Peer rank
#18 among Coastal & beach · Established suburbs
Cohort rank
#65 among Coastal & beach suburbs
Data confidence
78%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Population

Estimated resident population

579(June 2025)

+0.9% annual · +4.7% over 5 years · 38th percentile in QLD

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+0.9%
5-year growth
+4.7%
Change in 1 year
+5
Change in 5 years
+26
Growth rank in QLD
38th percentile

ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.

Methodology

Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.

The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~600), extrapolated at +0.9% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
563
Median age
39
Median household income / week
$1,690
Dwelling vacancy
6.8%
Unoccupied private dwellings
15 of 219
Median monthly mortgage
$1,517
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$405
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
29.8% / 53.2% / 17.1%
Employment rate
68.3%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
7.1% / 0% / 79.5%
Walked or cycled to work
2.5%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
190 / 7 / 0

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)

Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

  • Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Qualifications

9.6% of adults have a university degree, compared with 21.9% across Queensland. 27% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified9.6% · 21.9% QLD
  • Diploma qualified10.8% · 9.4% QLD
  • Trade / vocational27% · 18.9% QLD
  • Year 12 or below52.5% · 49.8% QLD

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Engineering and related technologies20.8%
  • Food, hospitality and personal services19.9%
  • Education13.4%
  • Management and commerce13%
  • Health11.1%
  • Society and culture8.3%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below

People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

University qualifications from the 2021 Census

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

Tax & income

Median taxable income (2023–24)
$48,500

27th percentile in QLD · -17% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$51,742

14th percentile in QLD · -20% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
11.0%

44th percentile in QLD · -20% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$64,731

43rd percentile in QLD · +2% vs Australia

Residents with business income
12.0%

63rd percentile in QLD · +15% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 4873 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.

Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
4,316
Taxpayers reporting net rent
474
Median net rent
$2,403
Taxpayers reporting business income
506
Taxable income vs state median
-12%
Salary / wages vs state median
-15%
Rental investment vs state median
0%
Super vs state median
-7%
Business income vs state median
+20%

Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in QLD, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.

Data sources & freshness

  • Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary

Seasonal & agricultural work

3.9% of employed residents work in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 1.7× the Australian share (2.3%) — compared with 2.5% across Queensland.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing
3.9%

40th percentile in QLD · +70% vs Australia

Resident workers (2021)
11
WHM specified work
Subclass 417 / 462

Postcode 4873

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census General Community Profile tables G54 (industry of employment) and G56 (industry by occupation), Statistical Area Level (suburb), place of usual residence. Figures are residents’ main job in the week before Census night — not jobs located in the suburb. Agriculture, forestry and fishing is the 1-digit ANZSIC division; grape growing and other 3- and 4-digit industries are not in this datapack. The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Plant and animal cultivation in postcode 4873 (Northern and Regional Australia) may count as specified work for Working Holiday Maker visas (subclasses 417 and 462). This is a postcode rule from the Home Affairs instruments — not evidence that seasonal jobs exist here, and not a count of WHM residents. Home Affairs specified work · LIN 22/012 · LIN 22/013. Compilation used: 5 April 2025.

Region employment estimates (SA4, not this suburb)

Jobs and Skills Australia NERO modelled estimates for Cairns (SA4 306), 2026-08. These figures describe the broader region, not this suburb, and occupations are not added together.

  • Crop Farmers ANZSCO 1212796
  • Crop Farm Workers ANZSCO 8412672
  • Livestock Farmers ANZSCO 1213374
  • Agricultural, Forestry and Horticultural Plant Operators ANZSCO 7211302
  • Other Farm, Forestry and Garden Workers ANZSCO 8419154
  • Livestock Farm Workers ANZSCO 8415129
  • Mixed Crop and Livestock Farmers ANZSCO 121472
  • Aquaculture Workers ANZSCO 841172
  • Forestry and Logging Workers ANZSCO 841336
  • Mixed Crop and Livestock Farm Workers ANZSCO 841626

Cairns is a Statistical Area Level 4. Fruit, nut and vegetable workers are not published separately in NERO (they sit under ANZSCO 8412). Jobs and Skills Australia warns not to sum occupations or geographies. NERO data. Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation, Jobs and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. CC BY 4.0.

Census employed residents counted in G54: 283 · AFF share +56% vs the state.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — industry of employment (G54/G56), place of usual residence — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated · Resident main job in the week before Census night, not jobs located in the suburb

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

  • WHM specified work areas (LIN 22/012 and LIN 22/013) — Department of Home Affairs · 2025-04-05 · Updated · Postcode eligibility for plant and animal cultivation; not a count of WHM residents
  • Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation (NERO), SA4 × ANZSCO 4-digit — Jobs and Skills Australia · 2026-08 · Updated · Monthly modelled SA4 estimates; not suburb-level. CC BY 4.0

Community & culture

9.5% speak a language other than English at home; 21.4% born overseas

Language at home
477 English only · 50 other
Non-English at home
9.5%
Born overseas
113 (21.4%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
42 (7.5%)
Australian citizens
482
Languages spoken at home (other than English)
2

Top languages other than English

Share of residents who speak a language other than English at home (2021 Census).

  • German10 · 71.4%
  • Italian4 · 28.6%

Religion

52%No religion

No religion is the most common response at 52%, while Christianity accounts for 38.5%.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion52%40.7%
Christianity38.5%45.7%
Other / not stated9.4%13.6%
Christian denominations
DenominationSuburbState
Catholic21.7%18.6%
Anglican10.3%11.3%

2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

Crime & safety

Offence counts are estimated for this suburb from postcode 4873, which is shared with other suburbs.

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

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2026 to Sep 2026)
26
Against the person
9
Against property
9
Rate per 1,000 residents (annualised)
60
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 63 residents
State crime-rate percentile
36.1th (higher = more crime)
Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
-17.2%

Most common offence types

  • Other Property Damage4
  • Assault4
  • Drug Offences3
  • Good Order Offences5
  • Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)3

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

  • QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Sep 2026; Jan 2026 to Sep 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

School list
School catchments
  • Mossman SHSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundarysecondary_catchment
  • Mossman SSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment
  • Port Douglas SSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment

Government school intake zones that overlap this suburb boundary. Living in a catchment does not guarantee enrolment; check the education authority.

Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)

Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts

Data sources & freshness

Amenities

1 mapped amenities

1 swimming pools

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
Walkability proxy
0/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
1.78
Sport & outdoors(1)
  • Swimming pool

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
23.5%
Woodland / forest cover
23.3%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
5
Parks (OSM)
1
Typical summer maximum
30°C

Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)

Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries

Health access

Nearest hospital
Mossman Multipurpose Health Service (2.7 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
GP clinics in suburb
0

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
16
Participants per 1,000 residents
27.6

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
30° / 22°
Rainfall
900 mm · ~90 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
27° / 20°
Rainfall
493 mm · ~62 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
24° / 16°
Rainfall
70 mm · ~9 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
29° / 19°
Rainfall
132 mm · ~16 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
No overlay at centroid
Flood / inundation overlay
No mapped inundation on suburb boundary

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping. Flood cover uses floodplain overlay polygons against the suburb boundary where published.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Bushfire and flood planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Leichhardt
Member of Parliament
Matt SMITH (Australian Labor Party)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
122,757
Turnout (2025)
83.0%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+9.5 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 43.9%Labor 56.1%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 45.1 km away).

Coalition 44.9%Labor 55.1%

1.0 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +11.2 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • MossmanLabor 56.8% · Coalition 43.2% TPP (2025)2.6 km away
  • Port DouglasLabor 53.4% · Coalition 46.6% TPP (2025)7.4 km away
  • MialloLabor 43.4% · Coalition 56.6% TPP (2025)8.5 km away
  • Wonga BeachLabor 48.3% · Coalition 51.7% TPP (2025)13.5 km away
  • DaintreeLabor 40.0% · Coalition 60.0% TPP (2025)25.1 km away

Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
5/10
IRSD decile (2021)
7/10

ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?

IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.

IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.

A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

More in Douglas Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

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