Mooloolaba, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mooloolaba is a popular beachside suburb on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, just south of Maroochydore and around 95 kilometres north of Brisbane. It is best known for its patrolled swimming beach, the palm-lined Esplanade of cafes, restaurants and shops, and SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast, an aquarium with an 80-metre underwater tunnel. A sheltered, all-weather harbour gives the suburb a working fishing fleet and marinas, and cruise ships sometimes anchor offshore. The locality was originally called Mooloolah Heads and was renamed Mooloolaba in 1919. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word — linked variously to 'mulu', meaning snapper, or 'mulla', a red-bellied black snake.
More advantaged than the national average
Mooloolaba is more socio-economically advantaged than about 62% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1008, 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.
Mooloolaba at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 8,202
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,506
- SEIFA score
- 1008
- Coordinates
- -26.6860, 153.1162
Mooloolaba demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mooloolaba 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 28%, 42% of homes are rented, and 27% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,086 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 817 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,231 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,294 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,772 | 22% |
Share of the 8,200 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,151 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 813 | 23% |
| Rented | 1,454 | 42% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,350 | 39% |
| Townhouses & semis | 405 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,669 | 48% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,505 occupied private dwellings in Mooloolaba.
- Median weekly rent
- $400
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,762
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,007
- Median weekly personal income
- $843
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,091 (27%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 759 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 154 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,152 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 2,200
- Employed part-time
- 1,476
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 Mooloolaba
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Mooloolaba 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 Mooloolaba
Where is Mooloolaba?
Mooloolaba is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Mooloolaba?
At the 2021 Census, Mooloolaba had a population of about 8,202.
Is Mooloolaba an advantaged area?
Mooloolaba has an ABS SEIFA score of 1008, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 62 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 62% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Mooloolaba?
Mooloolaba 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).
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