Mackay - Surrounds vs Proserpine - Whitsunday

Mackay - Surrounds and Proserpine - Whitsunday are two large rural areas in Queensland. They differ most in how people get around. Proserpine - Whitsunday is mostly car-dependent, but it is far more walkable than Mackay - Surrounds, which is car-dependent. In Proserpine - Whitsunday, 47.3% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries and 42.3% are near a school, while in Mackay - Surrounds these figures are much lower at 5.6% and 5.0%. Similarly, 73.1% of homes in Proserpine - Whitsunday are near a park, compared to 25.7% in Mackay - Surrounds.

Daily life in both areas relies heavily on cars, as neither place has high walkability. They also both have a higher proportion of First Nations people than many other similar areas. Proserpine - Whitsunday has a larger First Nations population at 784 people, compared to 482 in Mackay - Surrounds. While First Nations residents in Mackay - Surrounds are noticeably older with a typical age of 28, those in Proserpine - Whitsunday are younger at 23.