45.8% ▲ +11.3%
Higher than 52% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 41.1%
- 2016: 43.1%
- 2021: 45.8%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Mackay · Suburb / Locality
Education & Qualifications in Mackay
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Mackay sits around the middle of similar areas for most education measures, though it trails behind state and national trends. Only 45.8% of residents completed Year 12, which is far below the figures for Queensland and Australia.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
School completion is significantly lower than the national average, with 45.8% of people finishing Year 12 compared to 58.8% across Australia.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Mackay, Year 12 is the majority at 56%; Year 10 is next at 25%.
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
A typical resident is less likely to hold a university degree here, with the 15.2% who have a bachelor degree or higher falling far below the national figure of 26.3%.
15.2% ▲ +12.1%
Higher than 52% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 13.6%
- 2016: 15.7%
- 2021: 15.2%
Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).
Highest qualification level
View on map →In Mackay, the largest group is Certificate III / IV at 44%, followed by Bachelor degree (26%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (15%).
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common qualifications are in engineering and related fields at 16.6%, followed by management and commerce at 11.9% and health at 10.1%.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
There are 17 schools within 3km, which is more than 87% of similar areas. These schools are much larger than most, with a typical size of 668 students.
6.13
Higher than 63% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
17
Higher than 86% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools serving the area — within 3 km of small areas, or inside larger ones. A measure of access (catchments overlap, so don't add it across areas).
668
Higher than 88% of suburb / locality areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
985
Lower than 54% of suburb / locality areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Mackay
17 schools — 11,354 students, average ICSEA 985.
By sector: Government 8 · Catholic 7 · Independent 2
By type: Primary 10 · Secondary 6 · Combined 1
| Mackay Central State School, Mackay | Government | Primary | 0.2 km | 216 | 908 |
| Kutta Mulla Gorinna Special Assistance School, Mackay | Independent | Secondary | 0.5 km | 75 | 811 |
| St Patrick's College, Mackay | Catholic | Secondary | 0.6 km | 1,394 | 1,009 |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Mackay South | Catholic | Primary | 1.2 km | 384 | 1,050 |
| Mackay State High School, South Mackay | Government | Secondary | 1.2 km | 1,254 | 936 |
| Victoria Park State School, East Mackay | Government | Primary | 1.3 km | 602 | 927 |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, North Mackay | Catholic | Primary | 2.3 km | 349 | 1,016 |
| Mackay North State School, North Mackay | Government | Primary | 2.4 km | 401 | 933 |
| St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School, Mackay West | Catholic | Primary | 2.4 km | 569 | 1,031 |
| Mackay West State School, West Mackay | Government | Primary | 2.4 km | 770 | 980 |
| Mackay Christian College, North Mackay | Independent | Combined | 3.1 km | 879 | 1,000 |
| Catherine McAuley College, Mackay | Catholic | Secondary | 3.2 km | 606 | 1,026 |
| Mackay North State High School, North Mackay | Government | Secondary | 3.2 km | 1,253 | 958 |
| Fitzgerald State School, North Mackay | Government | Primary | 3.5 km | 632 | 955 |
| Glenella State School, Glenella | Government | Primary | 4.2 km | 234 | 977 |
| Holy Spirit College, Mount Pleasant | Catholic | Secondary | 4.5 km | 1,139 | 1,023 |
| Emmanuel Catholic Primary School, Mount Pleasant | Catholic | Primary | 4.5 km | 597 | 1,025 |
Sources
More for Mackay
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Mackay [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL31724/mackay/topic/education