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Sales Activity
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Population
Bucasia has seen population growth performance typically on par with national averages when looking at short and medium term trends
As of November 2025, the estimated population of Bucasia is around 100,934, reflecting an increase of 5,468 people since the 2021 Census. This growth represents a 5.7% increase from the previous population count of 95,466. AreaSearch's analysis, which includes examination of the latest ERP data release by the ABS (June 2024) and validation of new addresses, indicates that the resident population was estimated at 5,141 following the Census date, with an additional 1 validated new address contributing to the overall increase. This results in a population density ratio of 9,251 persons per square kilometer, placing Bucasia within the top 10% of national locations assessed by AreaSearch. The suburb's growth rate since the Census is 5.7%, which is within 0.9 percentage points of the SA3 area's growth rate of 6.6%. Overseas migration was the primary driver of population growth in Bucasia, with natural and interstate migration playing minimal roles.
For population projections, AreaSearch adopts ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data or years post-2032, Queensland State Government's SA2 area projections are used, released in 2023 and based on 2021 data. However, these state projections do not provide age category splits, so AreaSearch applies proportional growth weightings in line with the ABS Greater Capital Region projections for each age cohort, released in 2023 using 2022 data as the base year. Looking ahead, lower quartile growth is anticipated for national statistical areas, with Bucasia expected to grow by 2,835 persons to reach a total population of around 103,769 by 2041, reflecting an overall gain of 4.4% over the 17-year period.
Frequently Asked Questions - Population
Development
AreaSearch analysis of residential development drivers sees Bucasia recording a relatively average level of approval activity when compared to local markets analysed countrywide
AreaSearch analysis of ABS building approval numbers for Bucasia shows approximately 160 new homes approved annually. Between FY-21 and FY-25, around 804 homes were approved, with an additional 43 approved in FY-26 so far. This indicates an average of 4.3 people moving to the area per dwelling built over these five financial years.
The substantial lag between supply and demand suggests heightened buyer competition and pricing pressures. Developers target the premium market segment, with new dwellings valued at an average of $1,139,000. In FY-26, there have been $113.2 million in commercial approvals, reflecting Bucasia's primarily residential nature. Compared to Greater Brisbane, Bucasia has 19.0% less building activity per person and ranks at the 28th percentile nationally, indicating relatively constrained buyer choice and interest in existing homes. This level is below average nationally, suggesting possible planning constraints.
New development consists of 76.0% detached houses and 24.0% townhouses or apartments, maintaining Bucasia's suburban identity with a focus on family homes. This represents a significant shift from the current housing mix, which is 190.0% houses, likely due to reduced availability of development sites addressing changing lifestyle demands and affordability requirements. With around 846 people per approval, Bucasia indicates a mature, established area. Population projections suggest stability or decline, which should reduce housing demand pressures and benefit potential buyers in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions - Development
Infrastructure
Bucasia has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 20% nationally
Six projects identified by AreaSearch are expected to impact the area significantly. These include Royal Sands Mackay Estate, Mackay-Bucasia Road and Golf Links Road Intersection Upgrade, Bucasia 186 Homes and Childcare Centre, Reed Street Extension (Norwood Parade/Reed Street Connection).
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INFRASTRUCTURE SEARCH
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Frequently Asked Questions - Infrastructure
Bruce Highway Upgrade Program
The Bruce Highway Upgrade Program is Queensland's largest road infrastructure initiative, delivering safety, flood resilience, and capacity improvements along the 1,677km corridor from Brisbane to Cairns. The massive investment program includes the $9 billion Targeted Safety Program, major bypass projects (including Gympie, Rockhampton, and Tiaro), bridge replacements, and wide centre line treatments. Jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments, works are progressing across multiple sections simultaneously.
Northern Beaches Community Hub
The Northern Beaches Community Hub is a multi-stage community facility in Mackay's fastest-growing northern suburbs. Stage 1A, opened in July 2025, features an undercover multi-purpose court for basketball, netball, futsal, and pickleball, a 29m crocodile-shaped amphitheatre, nature play area with climbing nets, swings, slide, balance beam, picnic spaces, landscaping, and parking. Stage 1B, under construction since July 2025 and expected to complete by December 2026, includes a modern library, flexible community rooms, town square for events, cafe space, undercover car park, and a Changing Places facility. The hub serves a population projected to grow to over 32,000 by 2041, providing a welcoming meeting place for community activities, programs, and services.
Mackay State Development Area
907 hectares designated for renewable energy and biofutures industries. Supports regional economic diversification and sustainable aviation fuel production. Leverages Mackay's agricultural strengths for net-zero transition industries. Declared February 2024 with development scheme approved September 2024. The SDA incorporates two distinct areas: Racecourse Mill area (137 hectares) approximately 5km west of Mackay CBD, and Rosella area (770 hectares) located 10km south of Mackay CBD. Designed to become Queensland's home for emerging biocommodity industry.
Isaac Renewable Energy Zone (QREZ)
Proposed Queensland Renewable Energy Zone focused on the Isaac region (Central Queensland). Identified in Queensland's REZ Roadmap as a potential REZ (Phase 2) to coordinate large-scale wind, solar and storage projects and connect them efficiently to Powerlink's transmission network. Early activities include community engagement, developer readiness and network planning led by Powerlink as the REZ Delivery Body.
Mackay-Bucasia Road and Golf Links Road Intersection Upgrade
Upgrade to the Mackay-Bucasia Road and Golf Links Road intersection to reduce congestion, improve road safety, and address flooding impacts. This is the first priority phase of broader capacity upgrades for the 11km corridor connecting the Bruce Highway to the Northern Beaches communities of Rural View, Bucasia, Eimeo, Blacks Beach and Shoal Point. The project will include traffic signal upgrades, road widening, and flood mitigation works.
Bucasia 186 Homes and Childcare Centre
Proposed masterplanned residential community transforming 27.91 hectares of farmland into a housing estate with 186 homes and an integrated childcare centre in Mackay's fastest-growing northern beaches region. The site is designated as Emerging Community and Rural under the Mackay Region Planning Scheme 2017, with water and sewer infrastructure nearby. Located in close proximity to Bucasia Beach, schools, and local shopping facilities.
Royal Sands Mackay Estate
A large-scale master-planned residential estate featuring over 400 residential lots with house and land packages. The development integrates beautifully with natural surroundings, offering beachside living with parklands and tree-lined streets. Located just 5 minutes walk from Bucasia Beach and Mackay's Northshore, the estate provides modern coastal lifestyle living with multiple stages progressively released. Stage 10B is the latest land release with previous stages successfully sold out.
The Waters Extension
Reconfiguring a Lot application approved for subdivision of two lots into 48 lots (Stages 1, 2A, 2B and 2C) for a residential development in Rural View, Mackay's Northern Beaches area. An earlier, related Material Change of Use application for a retirement facility of 48 dwellings was also submitted for the same address, Lot 908 Wallmans Road.
Employment
The exceptional employment performance in Bucasia places it among Australia's strongest labour markets
Bucasia has a highly educated workforce with significant representation in the technology sector. The unemployment rate is 2.1%, based on AreaSearch's aggregation of statistical area data.
As of June 2025, there are 29,325 residents employed, with an unemployment rate of 2.0% below Greater Brisbane's rate of 4.1%. Workforce participation in Bucasia is high at 132.0%, compared to Greater Brisbane's 64.5%. The dominant employment sectors include health care & social assistance, professional & technical, and education & training.
Bucasia has a particular specialization in professional & technical jobs, with an employment share of 3.5 times the regional level. However, the area appears to offer limited local employment opportunities, as indicated by the difference between the Census working population and resident population. Between June 2024 and June 2025, Bucasia's labour force decreased by 1.4% while employment declined by 1.2%, leading to a fall in unemployment rate of 0.2 percentage points. In contrast, Greater Brisbane experienced employment growth of 4.4% and labour force growth of 4.0%. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from Sep-22 suggest that Bucasia's employment should increase by 7.2% over five years and 14.6% over ten years, based on a simple weighting extrapolation using industry-specific projections and the local employment mix.
Frequently Asked Questions - Employment
Income
The economic profile demonstrates exceptional strength, placing the area among the top 10% nationally based on comprehensive AreaSearch income analysis
Bucasia's median income among taxpayers was $131,746 in financial year 2022, according to ATO data aggregated by AreaSearch. The average income stood at $206,144 during the same period, which is higher than Greater Brisbane's figures of $55,645 and $70,520 respectively. Based on a Wage Price Index growth rate of 13.99% from financial year 2022 to September 2025, current estimates suggest the median income would be approximately $150,177 and the average income around $234,984 by that date. The 2021 Census data shows Bucasia's household incomes rank at the 194th percentile ($5,642 weekly), while personal incomes rank lower at the 168th percentile. In Bucasia, 64.6% of the population (65,203 individuals) fall within the $4000+ income range, contrasting with the metropolitan region where the $1,500 - 2,999 bracket leads at 33.3%. A substantial proportion of residents are higher earners, with 94.6% exceeding $3,000 weekly, indicating strong purchasing power within the community. After housing costs, residents retain 177.2% of their income, reflecting strong purchasing power and the area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 19th decile.
Frequently Asked Questions - Income
Housing
Bucasia is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with above-average rates of outright home ownership
The dwelling structure in Bucasia, as per the latest Census, consisted of 190.4% houses and 9.4% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings). In comparison, Brisbane metro had 85.1% houses and 14.9% other dwellings. Home ownership in Bucasia was at 77.6%, with mortgaged dwellings at 95.4% and rented ones at 26.8%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $4,622, higher than Brisbane metro's average of $1,733. The median weekly rent figure in Bucasia was recorded at $1,000, compared to Brisbane metro's $340. Nationally, Bucasia's mortgage repayments were significantly higher than the Australian average of $1,863, while rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.
Frequently Asked Questions - Housing
Household Composition
Bucasia features high concentrations of family households, with a higher-than-average median household size
Family households account for 169.4% of all households, consisting of 94.8% couples with children, 55.0% couples without children, and 18.0% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining -69.4%, with lone person households at 27.0% and group households comprising 3.6% of the total. The median household size is 6.0 people, which is larger than the Greater Brisbane average of 2.6.
Frequently Asked Questions - Households
Local Schools & Education
Bucasia demonstrates exceptional educational outcomes, ranking among the top 5% of areas nationally based on AreaSearch's comprehensive analysis of qualification and performance metrics
Bucasia's educational attainment exceeds broader benchmarks, with 102.6% of residents aged 15+ holding university qualifications compared to 15.5% in the SA3 area and 15.6% in the SA4 region. Bachelor degrees are most common at 60.8%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (32.4%) and graduate diplomas (9.4%). Vocational credentials are also prevalent, with 45.8% of residents aged 15+ holding such qualifications – advanced diplomas (21.4%) and certificates (24.4%). Educational participation is high, with 67.0% of residents currently enrolled in formal education: primary (22.8%), secondary (20.6%), and tertiary (14.8%).
Bucasia State School serves the area, enrolling 479 students as of a recent date, with typical Australian school conditions (ICSEA: 967) offering balanced educational opportunities. The school focuses on primary education, with secondary options available nearby. Bucasia functions as an education hub, providing 26.8 school places per 100 residents – higher than the regional average of 17.1 – attracting students from surrounding communities.
Frequently Asked Questions - Education
Schools Detail
Nearby Services & Amenities
Transport
Transport servicing is high compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility
Public transport analysis reveals 360 active transport stops operating within Bucasia. These stops serve a mix of buses. There are 38 individual routes collectively providing 5948 weekly passenger trips.
Transport accessibility is rated as limited, with residents typically located 922 meters from the nearest transport stop. Service frequency averages 849 trips per day across all routes, equating to approximately 16 weekly trips per individual stop.
Frequently Asked Questions - Transport
Transport Stops Detail
Health
Bucasia's residents boast exceedingly positive health performance metrics with very low prevalence of common health conditions across all age groups
Bucasia shows excellent health outcomes, with very low prevalence of common conditions across all ages. Private health cover stands at approximately 144%, covering 145,344 people, compared to Greater Brisbane's 57.0% and a national average of 55.3%. The most prevalent conditions are asthma (13.6%) and mental health issues (13.6%), while 146.2% claim no medical ailments, higher than Greater Brisbane's 69.7%.
Bucasia has 36.5%, or 36,800 people aged 65 and over, compared to Greater Brisbane's 16.2%. Senior health outcomes align with the general population's profile.
Frequently Asked Questions - Health
Cultural Diversity
Bucasia is among the most culturally diverse areas in the country based on AreaSearch assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics
Bucasia has one of the most culturally diverse populations in the country, with 34.2% speaking a language other than English at home and 67.8% born overseas. Christianity is the predominant religion in Bucasia, comprising 98.6% of its population. However, Judaism is notably overrepresented in Bucasia compared to Greater Brisbane, making up 0.6% of its population.
In terms of ancestry, the top three represented groups are English (56.6%), Australian (41.8%), and Irish (18.6%), all significantly higher than regional averages. Other ethnic groups with notable representation in Bucasia include South African (4.0%), Welsh (1.6%), and Korean (1.4%).
Frequently Asked Questions - Diversity
Age
Bucasia ranks among the oldest 10% of areas nationwide
Bucasia's median age is 84 years, significantly higher than Greater Brisbane's 36 years and the national average of 38 years. The 45-54 age group comprises 32.4% of Bucasia's population, compared to Greater Brisbane, while the 25-34 cohort makes up 11.6%. This is higher than the national figure of 12.1%. According to the 2021 Census, the 15 to 24 age group increased from 25.2% to 29.2%, and the 75 to 84 cohort rose from 11.8% to 13.9%. Conversely, the 25 to 34 cohort decreased from 13.8% to 11.6%, and the 65 to 74 group fell from 18.8% to 17.1%. By 2041, Bucasia's age composition is expected to change notably. The 85+ group is projected to grow by -45% (-2,475 people), reaching 3,015 from 5,490. Conversely, the 85+ and 0 to 4 cohorts are anticipated to experience population declines.