Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach
Statistical Area - sa2

An assessment of population growth drivers in Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach reveals an overall ranking slightly below national averages considering recent, and medium term trends

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach's population is around 4,343 as of Nov 2025. This reflects an increase from 4,107 people in the 2021 Census to 4,355 in June 2024, with an additional 22 validated new addresses since the Census date. The population density is 317 persons per square kilometer. Since the census, the area's growth of 5.7% is within 0.8 percentage points of its SA3 area (6.5%). Population growth was primarily driven by overseas migration contributing approximately 80.4% of overall population gains during recent periods. AreaSearch adopts ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022.

For areas not covered and years post-2032, Queensland State Government's SA2 area projections are used, based on 2021 data and released in 2023. These state projections do not provide age category splits, so AreaSearch applies proportional growth weightings from the ABS Greater Capital Region projections (released in 2023, based on 2022 data) for each age cohort. According to these projections, over this period, the area's population is expected to contract by 127 persons by 2041. However, growth across specific age cohorts is anticipated, with the 65 to 74 age group projected to grow by 100 people.

Residential development activity is slightly higher than average within Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach when compared nationally

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach averaged approximately 19 new dwelling approvals annually. Between FY21 and FY25, 96 homes were approved, with an additional 4 approved in FY26 to date. Each year, around 3 new residents per dwelling have been recorded over the past five financial years.

This consistent demand supports property values, with new homes averaging $1,058,000 in construction cost value, indicating a focus on premium market developments. Commercial approvals totaled $1.3 million this financial year, suggesting minimal commercial development activity. Compared to the rest of Queensland, Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach maintains comparable new home approvals per capita, reflecting balanced market conditions.

New building activity comprises 65% detached dwellings and 35% townhouses or apartments, offering varied housing options across price ranges. With around 282 people per dwelling approval, the area exhibits low-density characteristics. Given stable or declining population forecasts, Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach may experience reduced housing pressure, creating favorable conditions for buyers.

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach has emerging levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the 34thth percentile nationally

AreaSearch has identified 13 projects that could impact a specific area, with key ones being Peregian Beach Reservoir Upgrade, Peregian Beach Park Upgrade, SEQ Liveability Fund - Peregian Beach Pathways, and Essence of Peregian Beach. The following list details those most relevant.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

Denotes AI-based impression for illustrative purposes only, not to be taken as definitive under any circumstances. Please follow links and conduct other investigations from the project's source for actual imagery. Developers and project owners wishing us to use original imagery please Contact Us and we will do so.

AreaSearch analysis of employment trends sees Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach performing better than 85% of local markets assessed across Australia

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach has an educated workforce with strong professional services representation. As of June 2025, the unemployment rate is 1.7%.

The area's employment rate is 2.2% below Rest of Qld's rate of 3.9%, with a workforce participation rate of 63.0%. Leading industries include health care & social assistance, professional & technical services, and retail trade. Professional & technical services have notable concentration, being 2.2 times the regional average. Agriculture, forestry & fishing employs just 0.6% of local workers, below Rest of Qld's 4.5%.

The area may offer limited local employment opportunities, as indicated by Census data. Between June 2024 and June 2025, the labour force decreased by 2.2%, while employment declined by 1.1%, causing unemployment to fall by 1.1 percentage points. This contrasts with Rest of Qld, where employment rose by 1.8%. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May 2025 project national employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach suggests local growth of approximately 7.0%% over five years and 14.2% over ten years, based on a simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes.

The economic profile demonstrates above-average performance, with income metrics exceeding national benchmarks based on AreaSearch comparative assessment

AreaSearch's data for financial year 2022 shows Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach had a median income of $53,144 and an average income of $77,530. This is higher than Rest of Qld's median income of $50,780 and average income of $64,844. By September 2025, adjusted for Wage Price Index growth of 13.99%, the estimated median income would be approximately $60,579 and the average income $88,376. According to the 2021 Census, incomes in Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach are at the 56th percentile nationally. The predominant income cohort is 30.5% of locals (1,324 people) earning between $1,500 and $2,999. Housing costs consume 16.1% of income, leaving disposable income at the 51st percentile. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 8th decile.

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with ownership patterns similar to the broader region

Dwelling structure in Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach, as per the latest Census conducted on 28 August 2016, consisted of 75.7% houses and 24.3% other dwellings including semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings. This is compared to Non-Metro Qld's 73.5% houses and 26.5% other dwellings. The home ownership level in Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach was 40.1%, with the remaining dwellings either mortgaged at 33.4% or rented at 26.4%. The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area, as of June 2021, was $2,100, higher than Non-Metro Qld's average of $2,000 and significantly above the national average of $1,863 recorded in December 2020. The median weekly rent figure in Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach, as of March 2021, was $455, higher than Non-Metro Qld's $500 and substantially above the national figure of $375 reported in June 2020.

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach features high concentrations of group households, with a fairly typical median household size

Family households constitute 70.8% of all households, including 30.2% couples with children, 32.2% couples without children, and 7.7% single parent families. Non-family households account for the remaining 29.2%, with lone person households at 25.0% and group households comprising 3.9%. The median household size is 2.4 people, which aligns with the Rest of Qld average.

The educational profile of Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach exceeds national averages, with above-average qualification levels and academic performance metrics

Educational attainment in Peregian Beach-Marcus Beach is notably high. As of 2016 Census data, 39.0% of residents aged 15 years and above held university qualifications, surpassing the broader benchmarks of 20.6% for Rest of Qld and 24.9% for the SA4 region. Bachelor degrees were the most prevalent at 26.5%, followed by postgraduate qualifications at 8.3% and graduate diplomas at 4.2%. Vocational credentials were also prominent, with 33.6% of residents aged 15 years and above holding such qualifications – advanced diplomas accounted for 13.2% and certificates for 20.4%.

Educational participation was high, with 28.2% of residents currently enrolled in formal education as of 2016 Census data. This included 9.7% in secondary education, 9.4% in primary education, and 4.2% pursuing tertiary education. However, educational facilities appear to be located outside the immediate catchment boundaries, requiring families to access schools in neighboring areas.

Transport servicing is low compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach has 14 active public transport stops. These are served by buses on two routes, offering a total of 260 weekly passenger trips. Residents' average distance to the nearest stop is 286 meters.

Service frequency is 37 trips per day across all routes, equating to about 18 weekly trips per stop.

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach's residents are extremely healthy with both young and old age cohorts seeing low prevalence of common health conditions

Analysis of health metrics indicates robust performance across Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach for both younger and older age groups, with low prevalence of common health conditions reported.

Approximately 59% of the total population (2,553 people) has private health cover, a rate notably higher than the average. The most prevalent medical conditions in the area are arthritis and mental health issues, affecting 7.9 and 6.8% of residents respectively. A significant majority, 73.9%, claim to be completely free of medical ailments, compared to 68.8% across the rest of Queensland. As of 2021, 20.8% of residents are aged 65 and over (905 people), which is lower than the 25.8% average in the rest of Queensland. Despite this, health outcomes among seniors in the area are particularly strong, outperforming even the general population in various health metrics.

In terms of cultural diversity, Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach records figures broadly comparable to the national average, as found in AreaSearch's assessment of a number of language and cultural background related metrics

Peregian Beach-Marcus Beach's cultural diversity is roughly in line with the wider region, with 75.4% of its population born in Australia, 87.6% being citizens, and 93.1% speaking English only at home. Christianity is the predominant religion, making up 39.4%. Judaism is slightly overrepresented at 0.4%, compared to 0.3% regionally.

The top three ancestry groups are English (33.1%), Australian (21.3%), and Irish (10.7%). Scottish representation is notably higher at 10.3%, French remains the same at 1.0%, while German is slightly overrepresented at 5.4%.

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach hosts an older demographic, ranking in the top quartile nationwide

Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach has a median age of 46 years, which is significantly higher than Rest of Qld's 41 years and the national average of 38 years. Compared to Rest of Qld, Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach has a higher concentration of residents aged 55-64 (17.3%) but fewer residents aged 25-34 (8.3%). This 55-64 concentration is well above the national average of 11.2%. Between the 2021 Census and present, the 65 to 74 age group has increased from 12.1% to 12.9% of the population. Conversely, the 5 to 14 cohort has decreased from 13.2% to 12.1%, and the 45 to 54 group has dropped from 15.6% to 14.6%. By 2041, Peregian Beach - Marcus Beach is expected to experience notable shifts in its age composition. Leading this demographic shift, the 65 to 74 group is projected to grow by 14%, reaching 638 from 561 people. This growth is primarily driven by residents aged 65 and older representing 78% of anticipated population growth. Conversely, both the 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 age groups are expected to see reduced numbers.