Cairns

Queensland · Cairns · 162,123 people · 79 suburbs · 9 postcodes

Cairns at a glance

162,123
Population
#9 of 69 in QLD
1,971
km² area
82/km² density
39.3
Median age
0.0 vs QLD
$1,645
Median HH income/wk
#20 of 69 in QLD
969
SEIFA IRSAD
#14 of 69 in QLD
49
Schools
29 gov, 15 Cath, 5 indep
22.4%
Born overseas
36.0%
Renting

Map shows the Cairns LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.

Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: ● 1-2 (most disadvantaged), ● 3-4, ● 5-6, ● 7-8, ● 9-10 (most advantaged).

Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Cairns is a Local Government Area in Queensland, in the Brisbane region. It covers 79 suburbs across 9 postcodes and an area of 1,971 km². Cairns has a population of 162,123 , ranking #9 most populous in QLD. The most populous suburb is Edmonton (11,409 residents), and the highest median household income is in Lamb Range at $2,750/week. The LGA-wide median household income is $1,645/week and median age is 39.3. About 22.4% of residents were born overseas and 14.1% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

0–14 (19.0%) 15–24 (11.7%) 25–44 (26.9%) 45–64 (27.0%) 65+ (15.4%)
Show counts
0–14 years30,791 (19.0%)
15–24 years18,934 (11.7%)
25–44 years43,648 (26.9%)
45–64 years43,809 (27.0%)
65+ years24,997 (15.4%)
22.4%
Born overseas
14.1%
Speak a language other than English at home
9.4%
First Nations
2.5
Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

Owned outright (27.2%) Mortgaged (36.8%) Renting (36.0%)

Dwelling type mix

Separate house (81.4%) Semi/townhouse (7.1%) Flat/apartment (11.6%)
$357
Median weekly rent
$1,562
Median monthly mortgage
44.0%
Households with 0-1 cars
56.0%
Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

5.8%
Unemployment rate
45,446
In full-time work
27,117
In part-time work

Schools in Cairns

49 schools across Cairns: 59.2% Government, 30.6% Catholic, 10.2% Independent. The QLD average is 69.8% / 17.1% / 13.1%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 989 (range 683 to 1091). QLD median is 985; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

QLD average for comparison
Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

Primary (57.1%) Secondary (20.4%) Combined (20.4%) Special (2.0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300
LGA median 989 QLD median 985LGA range 683 to 1091

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.

All 49 schools in Cairns, sorted by enrolment:

School Sector Type Suburb Students ICSEA
Cairns School of Distance Education Government Combined Manunda 3,692 1024
Redlynch State College Government Combined Redlynch 1,834 1007
Trinity Bay State High School Government Secondary Manunda 1,784 908
The BUSY School Independent Secondary Cairns 1,780 975
Bentley Park College Government Combined Bentley Park 1,771 869
Cairns State High School Government Secondary Cairns North 1,636 1019
St Andrew's Catholic College Redlynch Valley Catholic Combined Redlynch 1,373 1067
Tropical North Learning Academy - Smithfield State High School Government Secondary Smithfield 1,135 983
MacKillop Catholic College, Mount Peter Catholic Combined Mount Peter 1,119 987
St Mary's Catholic College Catholic Secondary Woree 949 1023
Tropical North Learning Academy - Trinity Beach State School Government Primary Trinity Beach 899 996
Edge Hill State School Government Primary Edge Hill 864 1016
St Augustine's College Catholic Secondary Cairns 777 1060
Whitfield State School Government Primary Whitfield 774 974
Woree State High School Government Secondary Woree 750 854
St Monica's College Catholic Secondary Cairns 697 1058
Newman Catholic College Catholic Secondary Smithfield 625 1046
Gordonvale State High School Government Secondary Gordonvale 623 883
Freshwater State School Government Primary Freshwater 594 1064
Holy Cross School Catholic Primary Trinity Park 572 1058
Freshwater Christian College Independent Combined Brinsmead 562 1041
Peace Lutheran College Independent Combined Kamerunga 544 1054
St Therese's School Catholic Primary Bentley Park 541 991
Caravonica State School Government Primary Caravonica 540 1020
Woree State School Government Primary Woree 530 860
Our Lady Help of Christians School Catholic Primary Earlville 506 1025
Isabella State School Government Primary Edmonton 496 899
Parramatta State School Government Primary Parramatta Park 482 887
Cairns West State School Government Primary Manunda 481 784
Gordonvale State School Government Primary Gordonvale 403 886
St Gerard Majella Primary School Catholic Primary Woree 399 1035
St Francis Xavier's School Catholic Primary Manunda 382 953
Balaclava State School Government Primary Mooroobool 381 797
Hambledon State School Government Primary Edmonton 378 865
Mother of Good Counsel School Catholic Primary Cairns North 354 1091
St Joseph's School Catholic Primary Parramatta Park 348 1029
Yorkeys Knob State School Government Primary Yorkeys Knob 321 998
Babinda State School Government Combined Babinda 280 931
St Michael's School Catholic Primary Gordonvale 279 993
Djarragun College Independent Combined Gordonvale 259 683
Machans Beach State School Government Primary Machans Beach 135 944
Cairns State Special School Government Special Woree 130 913
Aloomba State School Government Primary Aloomba 72 972
Cairns Adventist College Independent Combined Gordonvale 63 885
St Rita's School Catholic Primary Babinda 27 900
Mirriwinni State School Government Primary Mirriwinni 16 1026
McDonnell Creek State School Government Primary Fishery Falls 10 1010
Bellenden Ker State School Government Primary Bellenden Ker 6 909
Bartle Frere State School Government Primary Bartle Frere 4

Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.

SEIFA socio-economic indexes

SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Cairns. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

969
Ranked #14 of 69 QLD LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

983

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

973

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

974

Suburbs in Cairns

Cairns contains 79 suburbs and 9 postcodes. Sorted by population.

SuburbPostcodePopulationMedian incomeMedian age
Edmonton 4869 11,409 $1,643/wk 33
Redlynch 4870 10,571 $2,317/wk 37
Mount Sheridan 4868 8,678 $1,826/wk 37
Bentley Park 4869 8,360 $1,831/wk 32
Mooroobool 4870 7,136 $1,495/wk 41
Gordonvale 4865 6,944 $1,659/wk 38
Smithfield 4878 6,664 $1,840/wk 34
Trinity Beach 4879 6,594 $1,681/wk 42
Manoora 4870 6,175 $1,054/wk 36
Kewarra Beach 4879 6,133 $1,748/wk 43
Brinsmead 4870 5,537 $2,190/wk 39
Cairns North 4870 5,334 $1,402/wk 37
Manunda 4870 5,191 $1,069/wk 39
Woree 4868 5,127 $1,152/wk 38
Whitfield 4870 4,262 $1,681/wk 45
Earlville 4870 4,200 $1,166/wk 44
Bayview Heights 4868 4,175 $1,906/wk 43
Edge Hill 4870 4,088 $1,674/wk 42
Westcourt 4870 3,841 $1,186/wk 41
Parramatta Park 4870 3,621 $1,211/wk 33
Cairns City 4870 3,616 $1,627/wk 44
Trinity Park 4879 3,536 $2,008/wk 36
Clifton Beach 4879 3,192 $1,480/wk 48
Kanimbla 4870 2,827 $2,270/wk 39
Yorkeys Knob 4878 2,794 $1,234/wk 46
Palm Cove 4879 2,450 $1,527/wk 53
Holloways Beach 4878 2,398 $1,342/wk 46
Bungalow 4870 2,358 $1,121/wk 38
Caravonica 4878 2,183 $1,670/wk 46
Freshwater 4870 2,142 $1,867/wk 42
Babinda 4861 1,287 $1,048/wk 48
Stratford 4870 1,198 $1,793/wk 41
Goldsborough 4865 1,099 $2,279/wk 38
Kamerunga 4870 962 $2,104/wk 39
Machans Beach 4878 943 $1,610/wk 47
Mount Peter 4869 689 $2,096/wk 30
Aloomba 4871 576 $1,699/wk 41
Mirriwinni 4871 492 $1,241/wk 50
Aeroglen 4870 405 $1,798/wk 41
Portsmith 4870 314 $749/wk 35
Little Mulgrave 4865 269 $1,339/wk 52
Eubenangee 4860 247 $1,547/wk 47
East Trinity 4871 238 $1,875/wk 47
Bellenden Ker 4871 229 $1,517/wk 47
Fishery Falls 4871 205 $1,221/wk 50
Green Hill 4865 177 $2,077/wk 48
Bramston Beach 4871 173 $955/wk 64
Bartle Frere 4861 169 $1,593/wk 41
Wrights Creek 4869 160 $2,607/wk 41
Deeral 4871 151 $1,350/wk 46
Packers Camp 4865 136 $2,399/wk 45
Woopen Creek 4871 135 $1,575/wk 57
Fitzroy Island 4871 85 $962/wk 31
East Russell 4861 83 $1,292/wk 53
Barron 4878 68 $2,042/wk 48
Waugh Pocket 4871 46 $1,125/wk 60
Green Island 4871 20 $1,749/wk 34
Glen Boughton 4871 19 $2,749/wk 47
Lamb Range 4870 7 $2,750/wk 24
Ellis Beach 4879 5 $725/wk 54
Barron Gorge 4870
Buchan Point 4879
Cairns 4870
Cairns Central 4870
Cairns Mcleod Street 4870
Cairns Orchid Plaza 4870
Centenary Park 4869
Kamma 4865
Lake Morris 4870
Lake Placid 4878
Macalister Range 4871 $725/wk 75
Mackinnon 4870
Martynvale 4870
Meringa 4865
Ngatjan 4860
North Cairns 4870
Pyramid 4865
Tamarind Gardens 4869
Wooroonooran 4860 $2,250/wk 62

Postcodes covered

4860, 4861, 4865, 4868, 4869, 4870, 4871, 4878, 4879

Compare Cairns with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Cairns and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA Population Median age Median HH income SEIFA IRSAD % renting % overseas-born
Cairns (QLD) 162,123 39.3 $1,645/wk 969 36.0% 22.4%
Cassowary Coast 28,854 45.0 $1,240/wk 901 31.7% 14.4%
Mareeba 22,866 43.2 $1,337/wk 923 26.8% 16.9%
Carpentaria 2,087 36.1 $1,545/wk 863 58.2% 6.5%
Tablelands 26,245 48.5 $1,190/wk 926 25.5% 13.2%
Yarrabah 2,505 25.0 $1,254/wk 678 87.6% 0.2%

Services and amenities

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Frequently asked questions about Cairns

What is the population of Cairns?

The 2021 Census recorded 162,123 people living in Cairns, across 79 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Cairns?

Cairns contains 79 suburbs. The most populous are Edmonton, Redlynch, Mount Sheridan, Bentley Park, Mooroobool.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Cairns?

Cairns covers 9 postcodes: 4860, 4861, 4865, 4868, 4869, 4870, 4871, 4878, 4879.

What is the median household income in Cairns?

The population-weighted median household income across Cairns is $1,645 per week (2021 Census), ranking #20 of 69 QLD LGAs.

How many schools are in Cairns?

Cairns has 49 schools, including 29 government, 15 Catholic, and 5 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Cairns?

Cairns has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 969, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed . Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.