Atherton Tablelands, QLD
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Drive to the coast
1h 20m
By road
Nearest major hospital
1 min
By road
Airport access
1h 50m
By road
Schools access
Good
Average daytime temp
25.8°C
Rainfall
Dry
Herberton is a small tin-mining town on the southern edge of the Atherton Tablelands, and its character still comes from that history: a heritage main street, the Historic Village and a population of about 900 that mostly knows one another. The median age is 51 and the wider Herberton area has barely grown since 2016, so this is a place that is settled rather than changing fast.
Housing is the main draw, with a median house price of about $411,000, well under half the Queensland median. The town has its own hospital, two secondary schools and a small supermarket, though the larger shops are in Atherton, around 16km away. It sits about 900 metres above sea level, so summer days average about 28.5C, winter nights about 11C and annual rainfall is around 890mm, far lower than on the coast.
Cairns Airport is around 1 hour 50 minutes away, the coast about 1 hour 20 minutes, and Brisbane is more than 20 hours by road, so flying is the realistic long-distance link. Herberton suits people who want cheap, quiet upland country and are comfortable driving to Atherton for anything beyond the basics. Anyone who needs a broad job market or quick access to the coast will find it limiting.
16 photos
Retirees, history enthusiasts, remote workers and buyers priced out of larger towns are the clearest fit, especially anyone who wants an inexpensive house in a small, settled community. The hospital and secondary schools are in town, which is unusual for a place this size. The job market data covers the whole Cairns region rather than Herberton itself, and local work in a town of 900 is limited, so most residents work remotely, are retired or drive to Atherton.
The supermarket in town is small, so a bigger shop or a specialist store means a drive of about 16km to Atherton, and cafes and restaurants are limited. Cairns Airport is around 1 hour 50 minutes away and Brisbane more than 20 hours by road. Internet is fixed wireless rather than fixed line, which matters for anyone planning to work from home. The population is small and older than the national average, so this suits people who want stability rather than a town on the move.
Explore Herberton Historic Village
Walk the heritage main street
Visit Mount Hypipamee Crater
Median house price
$411,000
56% below the QLD median
Sourced from Queensland Government Statistician's Office · 12 months ending 31 March 2026
Healthcare access
Excellent
Shopping & everyday services
Moderate
Supermarket within 10km, limited other retail
Internet connection
Fixed wireless
Plus 1 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 Cairns, Cape Tribulation, Mission Beach, Palm Cove, Port Douglas, 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.
Herberton (SAL 31321) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 28.2% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 18.3% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (55.6% of families against 25%). Lone-person households are more common than average (40.5% against 25.6%).
Population
895
Population growth
+0.4%
Herberton (SA2 306051167)
Median age
51 years
Labour force participation
38.3%
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
$488
Per week · ≈ $25,376/year
Median family income
$1,300
Per week
Median household income
$946
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
73.1%
Rented
21.8%
Born in Australia
71.7%
Born overseas
13.6%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.