Far North QLD, QLD
tropical · energetic · reef-gateway · outdoorsy
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Move Regional compares towns across QLD, NSW and WA on price, work, schools and lifestyle, so you can find the one that fits.
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Drive to the coast
2 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
4 min
By road
Airport access
15 min
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
29.5°C
Rainfall
Very wet
Cairns is a tropical regional city, not a beach town enlarged by tourism. More than 150,000 people live here, and the workforce includes healthcare, retail, trades, education and services alongside the visitor economy, so daily life continues well beyond reef boats and hotel precincts.
Population has grown strongly, up about 14% since 2016, and that gives the city a sense of movement rather than stagnation. Schools, hospital care, shopping and the airport are all close, which makes Cairns unusually self-sufficient for somewhere so far from a capital.
The trade-off is climate: the average daytime temperature is close to 30°C, summers are hot and rainfall is very high. Humidity and wet-season weather are part of the decision, not background detail. The Esplanade Lagoon, reef access and Wet Tropics mean outdoor time can be spectacular, but they coexist with a busy urban centre and a large tourism footprint.
Housing remains below south-east Queensland coastal-city levels, with a median house price around $769,000. Brisbane is more than 20 hours away by road, so flying is the realistic link south. Cairns suits people who want full regional-city services and tropical outdoor access, and who are genuinely comfortable living in the climate that makes both possible.
10 photos
Cairns works well for people who want tropical living without shrinking their world to a resort town. Families needing school choice, healthcare and hospitality workers, and people drawn to reef and rainforest access still have the jobs, infrastructure and services of a real city. That depth matters if a smaller tourism centre would start to feel restrictive.
The climate is a major commitment: summers are hot and rainfall is among the highest of the towns we cover. The city is busy, urban and tourism-heavy rather than quiet. Brisbane is more than 1,3 hours 15 minutes away by road, so air travel is the practical connection to the south.
Use Cairns as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics
Swim at the Esplanade Lagoon
Join reef and Indigenous cultural experiences
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Read the guideMedian house price
$769,000
17% below the QLD median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$450,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$680
≈ $2,947/month
Sourced from Queensland Government Statistician's Office · 12 months ending 31 March 2026
Healthcare access
Excellent
Shopping & everyday services
Excellent
10+ shopping centres within 20km — a real retail hub
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 51 more within 20km — showing the 8 closest.
Job market by industry
Healthcare — 16%
Largest share of local jobs
Employment figures cover this town's wider statistical region, not the town alone — you'll see the same figures for Cape Tribulation, Mission Beach, Palm Cove, Port Douglas, Herberton, Kuranda, Yungaburra and Atherton.
The score ranks this region against other regions for the same occupation, not against other jobs here — a low score means it isn't a regional stronghold for that field, not that there are no vacancies. Counts online job advertisements, so trades and farm work hired by word of mouth are undercounted, and outside capital cities this is published at a regional level larger than one town.
Cairns (UCL 303001) · 2021 Census
The age profile is close to the national one, with 15.3% aged 65 or over against 17.2% and 19% children against 18.2%.
Population
153,181
Population growth
+14.2%
Cairns City (SA2 306021145)
Median age
39 years
Labour force participation
62.6%
Growth is measured across the wider area named under the figure, which can be a different size to the town.
Share of total population in each band — rounding means these won't land on exactly 100%.
Couples are a share of total families; lone-person households are a share of total households — different bases, not one breakdown.
Median personal income
$811
Per week · ≈ $42,172/year
Median family income
$1,949
Per week
Median household income
$1,574
Per week
Personal is one person's income; family and household cover everyone living together — a single-income household will show a lower household figure than its highest earner's personal one. Personal income also covers every resident aged 15 and over, retirees included, so it reads low in a town with an older population even where household income is solid.
Owner-occupied
60.9%
Rented
36.2%
Born in Australia
68.2%
Born overseas
23.3%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.