QLD · Tablelands Council

Malanda, 4885

Est. population · Jun 2025

2,125

Growth (1 yr)

+1.4%

Growth (5 yr)

+7.3%

Median age

51

Median income

$1,120/wk

Employment rate

47%

Languages at home

4.6%non-English

Most common: Japanese, Australian Indigenous languages, German

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

39.4/100
Below average

830th in QLD

Verified 73% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Green suburb
  • National parks
  • Heritage area
  • Education hub
  • High desirability
What Malanda is known for: Green suburb, National parks, Heritage area, Education hub, High desirability

Suburb profile

Malanda is a quieter smaller community in Tablelands Council, where peace, space and a country-town pace still dominate. Retirees and empty-nesters are well represented here, 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.

There is enough green space nearby for walks, picnics and after-school play. A car helps for most daily errands, with fewer amenities clustered within an easy walk. Purchase and rent costs sit on the more affordable side of the local range.

Reported crime has been falling recently. This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.

Versus similar regional towns, the suburb reads below average on desirability, chiefly because local dining and lifestyle amenities, plus community and employment trail behind. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.

At a glance

Malanda snapshot

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

Median house price

No data available

Median rent

$380/wk

Population (ERP)

2,125

+1.4% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

11.5%

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

#133

among Country & regional · Mature

Safety

15th

percentile in state (higher = safer)

Pop. growth

59th

percentile in QLD

Advantage (IRSAD)

2/10

national SEIFA decile

School ICSEA

44th

percentile among schools with ICSEA

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
39.4/100 — Below average
National rank
3885th in Australia
State rank
830th in QLD
Peer rank
#133 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
Cohort rank
#398 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
73%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability indexSuburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Housing

All types (Mar 2026)
$380

Median weekly rent from Queensland RTA rental bond data. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.

Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)

Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum

Data sources & freshness

Population

Estimated resident population

2,125(June 2025)

+1.4% annual · +7.3% over 5 years · 59th percentile in QLD

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+1.4%
5-year growth
+7.3%
Change in 1 year
+29
Change in 5 years
+144
Growth rank in QLD
59th 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 (~2,250), extrapolated at +1.2% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
2,000
Median age
51
Median household income / week
$1,120
Dwelling vacancy
11.5%
Unoccupied private dwellings
100 of 873
Median monthly mortgage
$1,300
Employment rate
47%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
707 / 7 / 54

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community ProfileAustralian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

  • Estimated Resident PopulationAustralian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Community & culture

No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community ProfileAustralian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

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

Crime & safety

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

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2026 to Aug 2026)
51
Against the person
6
Against property
19
Rate per 1,000 residents
24
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 333 residents
State safety percentile
14.5th (lower crime is better)
Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
-21.2%

Most common offence types

  • Drug Offences25
  • Good Order Offences6
  • Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)19
  • Traffic And Related Offences24
  • Unlawful Entry8

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Crime rate and year-on-year trend

Data sources & freshness

  • QPS Online Crime MapQueensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Aug 2026; Jan 2026 to Aug 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
1
Median school ICSEA
994
Median ICSEA percentile
44th
School list
  • Malanda State High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 994 · 44th percentile · LBOTE 8% · 538 students · Top SEA quarter 12% · 1.9 km awayView on My School →

Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)

School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA

Data sources & freshness

Childcare

1 childcare service from OpenStreetMap

  • childcarechildcare

Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)

Childcare centre count

Data sources & freshness

  • Childcare servicesOpenStreetMap · current · Updated

Amenities

No OpenStreetMap amenities mapped for this suburb yet.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insightsSuburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenitiesOpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Parks & reserves

4 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Dungavell ParkPark
  • Eacham Memorial ParkPark
  • Johnstone River Nature RefugeNature reserve
  • Winfield ParkPark

Data sources & freshness

Green cover

Parks & woodland (OSM)
10
Parks (OSM)
3

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

Health access

Nearest hospital
Atherton Hospital (16.4 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)

Hospitals and GP clinics

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
48
Participants per 1,000 residents
22.6

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
31° / 25°
Rainfall
1,038 mm · ~90 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
29° / 24°
Rainfall
925 mm · ~92 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
25° / 20°
Rainfall
164 mm · ~20 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
28° / 22°
Rainfall
188 mm · ~24 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normalsWorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Roadworks & transport

1 active roadworks / incidents

  • South of Belson StMillaa Millaa Malanda Road06 Aug 2026 – 07 Oct 2026

Data sources & freshness

  • Road incidents & closuresState road authority open-data feeds · current · Updated

Heritage

3 heritage places

  • Majestic Picture TheatreState heritage place
  • Malanda Falls Swimming PoolState heritage place
  • St James Catholic Church & AltarState heritage place

Data sources & freshness

  • State heritage registerState heritage authority · current · Updated

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 overlaysState government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Kennedy
Member of Parliament
Bob KATTER (Katter's Australian Party (KAP))
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
123,696
Turnout (2025)
83.8%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+0.8 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 59.3%Labor 40.7%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 22.5 km away).

Coalition 56.9%Labor 43.1%

2.4 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +4.3 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • MalandaLabor 43.4% · Coalition 56.6% TPP (2025)2.7 km away
  • YungaburraLabor 44.1% · Coalition 55.9% TPP (2025)11.2 km away
  • Millaa MillaaLabor 37.1% · Coalition 62.9% TPP (2025)15.6 km away
  • AthertonLabor 45.9% · Coalition 54.1% TPP (2025)16.8 km away
  • Atherton NorthLabor 49.0% · Coalition 51.0% TPP (2025)16.8 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)
2/10
IRSD decile (2021)
2/10

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 (5%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)

Data sources & freshness

More in Tablelands Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

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