Magnetic Island
Queensland · Townsville
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
The median age is 58, higher than the middle Queensland area (39, Census 2021). Children under 15 are 9.4% of residents, against 18.4% in the middle Queensland area (Census 2021).
Magnetic Island has 1 school (1 government, 0 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 1 NQS-rated childcare service (ACECQA register). Population is 2,658 (ABS ERP June 2025).
Magnetic Island at a glance
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Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full QLD map →
How the Family-Fit score is built32/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullFew family services nearby - strongest on everyday amenities, weakest on families already here.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 40/100
- Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
- 10/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 69/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 27/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 1/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 33/100
QLD median 61/100
1 school in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1027
QLD median 60/100
1 NQS-rated service nearby
QLD median 73/100
3 parks · 1 GP · 3 supermarkets · 4 playgrounds
QLD median 51/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 20.2% of mortgage-holding households, 51.8% of renting households
QLD median 64/100
9.4% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 20.8% of families are couples with children
QLD median 44/100
SEIFA IRSAD decile 4 of 10 nationally
The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 484 Queensland areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 58/100). It is context, not a pass mark.
Not scored here (no published data for this area, so it is left out rather than counted as zero): Getting around. The remaining inputs were rescaled to 100.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the Magnetic Island SA2 is mapped onto 0–100 by fixed thresholds, then weighted. Inputs with no data here are dropped and the rest rescaled - never scored as zero. Every threshold and weight →
School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →
What families notice
What families notice
- This address is zoned to Magnetic Island State School (government, no fees).
- We don't yet have official crime data for QLD (only NSW and VIC) - that's a data gap on our side, not a claim this area is safe.
- About 52% of renters here spend over 30% of income on rent - above the standard affordability guideline (ABS Census 2021).
- We don't yet have property or rent figures for this area - check a real-estate portal directly for current prices.
Living in Magnetic Island: family snapshot
Living in Magnetic Island
A smaller suburb. Strong United Kingdom communities here (2021 Census). 1 NQS-rated childcare service nearby. Mostly detached family homes.
Magnetic Island compared with Queensland10 measures
| Measure | Magnetic Island | QLD average | Against QLD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 1.8% | 5.7% | Lower |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 7.6% | 13.0% | Lower |
| Couple families with children | 20.8% | 41.0% | Lower |
| One-parent families | 13.5% | 17.0% | Lower |
| Homes owned outright | 48.1% | 29.3% | Higher |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 23.0% | 35.6% | Lower |
| Homes rented | 27.2% | 33.2% | Lower |
| Separate houses | 83.3% | 76.6% | Higher |
| Flats and apartments | 6.0% | 11.1% | Lower |
| Born overseas | 24.8% | 22.7% | Higher |
Source: ABS Census 2021. The QLD figure is the population-weighted average of the 543 QLD areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.
About this area and its boundary
Magnetic Island is a locality in the Townsville area of Queensland. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Magnetic Island SA2.
2,658 residents - 9.4% are children under 15, median age 58, the largest overseas-born community is United Kingdom (9.9%).
This profile uses the ABS Magnetic Island statistical area (SA2) - the level Australian government data is published at. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries. It covers the gazetted suburbs of Nelly Bay, Horseshoe Bay, Picnic Bay, Arcadia, West Point and Florence Bay, drawn separately on the map above.
Property market
No free house sale price or 3-bedroom house rent is published for this area. 27.2% of homes are rented, against 33.2% across Queensland.
Homes and households
Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".
Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
Housing cost pressure
In Magnetic Island, 51.8% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 20.2% of households with a mortgage spend more than 30% on repayments - the ABS's stretched-household threshold (Census 2021).
ABS published figures, not our calculation.
- Mortgage over 30% of income
- 20.2%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 51.8%
QLD avg 11.9%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 48 of 207 households with a stated repayment.
QLD avg 32.3%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 146 of 261 households with a stated rent.
The two figures cover different households (mortgage-holding vs renting), so never add them. How the ABS counts these → Grey marker: QLD average (520 for mortgage and 528 for rent). Census 2021 - housing costs have moved since. Not financial advice.
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
What's being built here
24 new homes were approved in Magnetic Island in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 150 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.
Approved in the year to June 2025
Middle QLD area: 31
Separate houses
Private sector, over these 6 years
Townhouses & apartments
Private sector, over these 6 years
Counts are for the whole Magnetic Island statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 487Queensland areas.
Schools and childcare
1 school is located in the area, and the centre of the area is zoned to Magnetic Island State School. 1 childcare service is on the national register, 1 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.
Magnetic Island State School
The government school your child can attend for free by living in Magnetic Island.
This is the zoned government school for the centre of Magnetic Island (QLD catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
See the catchment on the mapThe government Year 7 zone for the centre of Magnetic Island (QLD catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
We show school intake context and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.
All school zones in the Townsville council area →
To look beyond Magnetic Island, every Queensland school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Find the school zone for an address in Magnetic Island
Type a street address in Victoria, NSW or Queensland. We show the government primary and secondary school zones it is in, from the official zone maps.
Your address goes from your browser straight to OpenStreetMap's address search to find it on the map. We never see it or store it. Address search © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Schools in Magnetic Island
ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All QLD schools →
Childcare: 1 service
National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.
Childcare services, ratings and fees1 services
- Meeting NQSEducating Kids Magnetic Island OSHCCentre-Based Care · 36 places · Nelly BayRated Oct 2025
- Centre-based day care
- $13.53/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $8.60/hr
Mean hourly fee across CCS-approved services, December quarter 2025 - Dept of Education, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Published at SA3 level (a wider area than this suburb's SA2), so it's an average across Townsville and surrounds, not this specific service list.
Verify locations before visiting. A rating over 3 years old is flagged. What the NQS ratings mean → Childcare places per child, by suburb →
Who lives here
Fewer couple families with children than Queensland overall: 20.8% of families, against 41.0% statewide.
Ages of people here
Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.
How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
Each line is drawn on its own scale, so compare the numbers, not the heights. Source: ABS Census 2011, 2016 and 2021.
Census trends against the middle QLD areafull charts
Which way this area is moving
The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Magnetic Island, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, Magnetic Island has grown older, with a smaller share of children and more residents born overseas.
- People counted
- +279 people since 2011
- Median age
- +10 years since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- −5.2 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- +2.7 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- +0.9 pts since 2011
Usual residents counted on Census night.
Half the residents are older than this, half younger.
Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.
Share of all residents born outside Australia.
Share of residents who stated a language, speaking one other than English at home.
The dashed line is the median across the Queensland areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →
Where this year's population change came from+1.60% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+41Reading the streams: Australian movers from other suburbs drove most of the change.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
7.6% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the Queensland average of 13%, and 1.8% are under 5. The median age is 58.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 1.8%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 7.6%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 3.2%
- 20–34 years
- 9.6%
- 35–54 years
- 21%
- 55–64 years
- 23.7%
- 65 years and over
- 33%
QLD avg 5.7%
QLD avg 13%
QLD avg 6.1%
QLD avg 19.9%
QLD avg 26.4%
QLD avg 11.9%
QLD avg 17%
Share of all residents of Magnetic Island (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Queensland average. How the bands and averages work →
Households and families
Households and families
34% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the Queensland average of 58%. The largest overseas-born communities are United Kingdom (9.9%), New Zealand (3.4%) and Germany (1.6%). 27% of homes are rented.
Family make-up
Share of all families in the area. A small "other family" group the ABS also counts is not shown.
- Couple with children
- 20.8%
- One-parent family
- 13.5%
- Couple, no children
- 63.4%
QLD avg 41%
QLD avg 17%
QLD avg 40.4%
What people live in
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.
- Separate house
- 83.3%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 9.2%
- Flat or apartment
- 6%
QLD avg 76.6%
QLD avg 11.5%
QLD avg 11.1%
Owned or rented
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.
- Owned outright
- 48.1%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 23%
- Rented
- 27.2%
QLD avg 29.3%
QLD avg 35.6%
QLD avg 33.2%
Figures describe Magnetic Island (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Queensland average. How these are counted →
Birthplaces, languages and communities
Who lives in Magnetic Island
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 83.5% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 9.9%
- New Zealand · established by 2016
- 3.4%
- Germany · established by 2016
- 1.6%
- Italy · growing since 2016
- 0.9%
- Netherlands · growing since 2016
- 0.7%
QLD avg 4.4%
QLD avg 4%
QLD avg 0.1%
QLD avg 0%
QLD avg 0.1%
- Co-located communities
- Magnetic Island is home to established United Kingdom and New Zealand communities - each is 2% or more of residents born overseas here, not a ranking of one against another.
- Nearby
- Townsville City - North Ward, Belgian Gardens - Pallarenda and South Townsville - Railway Estate also have an established United Kingdom community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 12.6% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (QLD avg 15.8%) and 67.7% arrived before 2001 (QLD avg 45.9%).
- English at home
- Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 1.9% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (QLD avg 11.3%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.
Figures describe Magnetic Island (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census. The ABS publishes only the five largest communities per area, so a missing name did not rank in the top five. How these are counted →
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 4 of 10
- Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
- Decile 4 of 10
- Where this sits in QLD
- bottom 40% of Queensland areas
A relative comparison of the whole area against all of Australia - not a safety, liveability, or school-quality measure. What IRSAD measures → Source: ABS SEIFA 2021, IRSAD index (SA2).
Getting around and lifestyle
3 supermarkets, 1 GP and 3 parks are mapped in the area, and the nearest emergency department is Mater Misericordiae Hospital, 17.3 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the Magnetic Island boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Train to the city and nearest emergency department
Train to the city
Not publishedNo station within reach of the middle of this area appears in the Queensland timetable feed, so we show no train travel time. Buses are not covered anywhere on this site.
Nearest emergency department
MappedMater Misericordiae Hospital · 17.3 km
Straight-line distance from the middle of this area - not a drive time. In an emergency call 000; do not plan around this figure.
Community and recreation
About this data
Counts of features tagged in OpenStreetMap inside the Magnetic Island boundary. “Middle QLD area”: the median of 538 Queensland areas. How these counts and times are made →
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Crime & safety in Magnetic Island
Official recorded-incident data is only published on this site for NSW and VIC so far - that's a coverage gap on our side, not a claim that Magnetic Island is safe. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. More on crime & safety →
Risks
1 of the 1 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: traffic noise. 6 more are not published for QLD - treat them as not checked.
Traffic noise
Main roads onlySooning Street · Horseshoe Bay Road · Arcadia Road · +4 more
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Magnetic Island area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.
All 9 checks and what each one means
Flooding
Not publishedNo free statewide flood overlay is published for QLD yet, so we show none. Check the local council's planning maps.
Bushfire
Not publishedWe hold official bushfire mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the state fire service's mapping.
Heritage controls
Not publishedWe hold official heritage overlay mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the local council's planning scheme and the state heritage register.
Traffic noise
Main roads onlySooning Street · Horseshoe Bay Road · Arcadia Road · +4 more
No freeway or highway is mapped inside this area. 7 named main roads (arterial or connector) run through it. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment.
Aircraft noise
Not publishedWe hold official aircraft-noise mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the airport's noise contours and the local planning scheme.
Land contamination checks
Not mappedWe hold official contaminated-land overlay mapping for Victoria only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Check the state environment authority's contaminated land register and the local planning scheme.
Acid sulfate soils
Not publishedWe hold acid sulfate soil mapping for Victoria and New South Wales only - nothing is published here for QLD yet. Coastal and estuarine land is where these soils occur; check the state's soil mapping and the local planning scheme.
Recorded crime
Not publishedQLD does not release the suburb-level incident counts we republish for New South Wales and Victoria, so we show none here.
Social housing
Census figure0.0% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 0.0% from a community housing provider
Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle QLD area is 1.6% public and 0.4% community, across 531 areas. Listed because families ask; it is a fact about who owns the homes, not a judgement about the people in them.
About this data
Every line is an official published record for the Magnetic Island area - we don't rate, score or rank any of them. Where a line is missing, treat it as not checked rather than clear. What each line covers and does not →
Source: ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification
Nearby suburbs
- Townsville City (North Ward area) 11 km
- Belgian Gardens (Pallarenda area) 12 km
- South Townsville (Railway Estate area) 13 km
- Garbutt (West End area) 14 km
- Hyde Park (Pimlico area) 15 km
- Gulliver - Currajong - Vincent 16 km
The six closest profiled areas in Queensland, by distance between area centres.
The suburbs in this area
Everything else on this page is published for Magnetic Island as a whole - one ABS statistical area covering 6 separate gazetted suburbs. These are the figures published for each of the 5 the ABS publishes a profile for.
| Suburb | Residents Census 2021 | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Nelly Bay | 1,213 | 1 |
| Horseshoe Bay | 611 | 0 |
| Picnic Bay | 367 | 0 |
| Arcadia | 246 | 0 |
| West Point | 32 | 0 |
1 smaller locality is also inside this area. The ABS publishes no separate census profile for it, so it has no row here.
Each row is that suburb's own published figure - nothing here is the wider area's number divided up. Resident counts are the Census 2021 usual-resident count for the gazetted suburb, so they will not add up to the population at the top of this page, which is the ABS's later June 2025 estimate for the whole statistical area: a different measure on a different date. Schools are ACARA-registered schools whose published address falls inside the suburb boundary, which is not the same as the school your address is zoned to. No free source publishes suburb-level house medians in Queensland, so no price column is shown - that is our coverage gap, not a statement about the market here. Every other figure on this page - crime & safety, overlays, commute, amenities, projections, the Family-Fit score - is published for the whole statistical area and cannot be separated by suburb.
Other areas in Townsvillesorted by growth in one year
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