Far North QLD, QLD
low-key luxe · tropical · wellness · palm-lined
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Drive to the coast
2 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
34 min
By road
Airport access
37 min
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
29.5°C
Rainfall
Wet
Palm Cove is a small tropical beach community with a highly polished visitor-facing centre. Around 2,450 people live here, the median age is 53 and population has grown by about 13% since 2016. Restaurants, wellness businesses and the palm-lined esplanade give the town far more amenity than its resident population alone would support, but that also means tourism is woven into daily life.
Housing sits around a $951,000 median and three-bedroom rents near $700 a week. Schools are strong, shopping is useful and Cairns-side services are within reach, though the nearest major hospital is roughly 35 minutes away. The airport is about 40 minutes.
The climate is hot and wet, with almost no winter cold and substantial rainfall, so humidity and tropical weather are central to the lifestyle. Rural space is minimal and the local job market is naturally narrower than Cairns.
Palm Cove suits people who want a compact, upmarket tropical beach setting and can live comfortably with visitors, resort activity and a smaller permanent community. It is less attractive if you need city-scale work and services immediately around you or want a coastal place where tourism fades into the background outside holidays.
6 photos
Palm Cove will appeal to retirees, remote workers, hospitality or wellness workers and couples who want a polished tropical beach village where restaurants, wellness businesses and walking are part of the routine. The calm resort atmosphere is central to the appeal. People looking for city energy, a broad employment base or rugged outdoor adventure will probably find it too narrow.
Tourism is at its heaviest and healthcare is only moderate, with the hospital around 34 minutes away. The climate is hot and wet, and rural space is minimal. People needing a broad local job market or city-level services will likely rely on Cairns.
Stroll the palm-lined esplanade
Book a spa or wellness stay
Kayak at sunrise and dine in the compact beach village
More from Londoner in Sydney
Looking for the best things to do in Palm Cove in Tropical North Queensland? While we’ve stayed in Port Douglas, Cairns and Palm Cove, we have to say Palm Cove is our favourite out of the three Tropical North Queensland destinations.
Read the guideMedian house price
$950,555
3% above the QLD median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$515,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$700
≈ $3,033/month
Sourced from Queensland Government Statistician's Office · 12 months ending 31 March 2026
Healthcare access
Moderate
Shopping & everyday services
Good
4–9 shopping centres within 20km
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 12 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, 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.
Palm Cove (SAL 32258) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 27.8% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 11.1% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (64% of families against 26.8%).
Population
2,450
Population growth
+13.4%
Clifton Beach - Kewarra Beach (SA2 306011139)
Median age
53 years
Labour force participation
56%
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
$797
Per week · ≈ $41,444/year
Median family income
$2,048
Per week
Median household income
$1,527
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
66.7%
Rented
30.1%
Born in Australia
59.1%
Born overseas
33.5%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.