Buderim, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Buderim is a Sunshine Coast town set on a 180-metre mountain that looks out over the southern communities of the region. Its name is usually thought to come from a Kabi Kabi word, Badderam, for the hairpin honeysuckle, though it has also been linked to a Yugambeh word, budherahm, said to mean sacred or spiritual. In 1862 Tom Petrie travelled from Brisbane with Turrbal and Kabi Kabi guides in search of cedar and ascended the mountain, opening the area to timber-getters who cut its stands of beech and red cedar. Once the plateau was cleared, its rich red volcanic soil proved well suited to farming — most famously ginger, the crop for which Buderim became known, along with coffee. It remains a leafy hinterland town today.
More advantaged than the national average
Buderim is more socio-economically advantaged than about 77% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1036, 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.
Buderim at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 31,430
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,729
- SEIFA score
- 1036
- Coordinates
- -26.6876, 153.0684
Buderim demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Buderim 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 27%, 21% of homes are rented, and 25% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 5,324 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,359 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,486 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 8,441 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 7,817 | 25% |
Share of the 31,427 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 4,490 | 37% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 4,150 | 34% |
| Rented | 2,494 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 8,817 | 73% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,942 | 16% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,258 | 10% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 12,030 occupied private dwellings in Buderim.
- Median weekly rent
- $450
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,119
- Median weekly personal income
- $793
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 7,457 (25%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,910 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 492 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 15,469 (62%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 7,677
- Employed part-time
- 5,653
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 Buderim
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Buderim is January (average daytime high around 28.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 20.4°C). The area receives roughly 1234 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28.4°C | 20.9°C | 136 mm |
| Feb | 28°C | 20.8°C | 187 mm |
| Mar | 27.4°C | 20.2°C | 171 mm |
| Apr | 24.9°C | 17.2°C | 83 mm |
| May | 22.4°C | 14.3°C | 104 mm |
| Jun | 20.5°C | 12.1°C | 62 mm |
| Jul | 20.4°C | 11.2°C | 53 mm |
| Aug | 21.8°C | 11.6°C | 42 mm |
| Sep | 23.8°C | 13.8°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 25.6°C | 16.2°C | 118 mm |
| Nov | 27.4°C | 18.1°C | 94 mm |
| Dec | 28.2°C | 19.9°C | 137 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Buderim
Where is Buderim?
Buderim is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Buderim?
At the 2021 Census, Buderim had a population of about 31,430.
Is Buderim an advantaged area?
Buderim has an ABS SEIFA score of 1036, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 77 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 77% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Buderim?
Buderim has average daytime highs of about 24.9°C and overnight lows of about 16.4°C, with roughly 1,234 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Buderim?
Buderim is one of the most populous suburbs in Queensland — the 2nd-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 31,430 usual residents).
Where Buderim ranks
Buderim appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Queensland#2 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.