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Suburb profile ·Cairns LGA · QLD ·4870

Cairns North QLD 4870

Cairns North is in Cairns LGA, QLD, postcode 4870, with population 5,334.

The read

Livability-led

The page has enough signal to be useful, but the story is mixed rather than decisive. Use compare mode to pressure-test it against stronger nearby options, then use the calculator if it still makes the shortlist.

$550/wk
+14.6% YoY
Jun 2021 → Mar 2026 · 20 periods
Queensland RTA · suburb grain · Mar 2026
$550
$350
Jun 2021Mar 2026
Median house
No local house series
Median rent
$550/wk
Rent context available
14.6%YoY D10 vs AU
Gross yield
Need rent + price
Population
5,334
5K local footprint
D9 vs AU
Schools
2
Matched school context
D8 vs AU
Solar
13,488
1,075 added 12mo · 112MW

Price history

No price history available

Price series isn't recorded for this suburb. Census housing data is shown instead.

Median mortgage · mth$1,300
Median rent · wk$340

Affordability

39%
median weekly rent as a share of gross household income (the 30% rule)
Stretched

Owners with a mortgage repay a median of $1,300/mo, while renters pay about $2,383/mo — renting runs $1,083/mo higher on these medians.

Household income · yr
$73K
Median rent · wk
$550
Owner mortgage · mo
$1,300

Household income

$73K household · yr-8.4% vs QLD suburb median
Personal
$45K
Family
$96K
Household
$73K

Schools

Total2
Avg ICSEA1055
Students1,990
Catholic1
Government1
  • Cairns State High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 1019
  • Mother of Good Counsel SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 1091
Crime Year ending Apr 2026
11,007
11,007 per 100k
D9 vs AU

Crime

Rate · per 100k11,007
Total incidents11,007· Year ending Apr 2026
  • Assault2,17232%
  • Break And Enter1,87128%
  • Drug Offences2,24133%
  • Fraud4246%

Full data detail

Cairns North QLD — Property Data and Demographics

Located in Queensland within the Cairns local government area, Cairns North is a medium-sized suburb (postcode 4870). With a population of 5,334, the suburb has a blend of families and working-age professionals with a median age of 37. Households earn a median income of $73K per year, with an average household size of 1.9 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +1.0% year-on-year at the LGA level. QLD employment has moved +0.9% year-on-year in the official Jobs and Skills Australia NERO series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. QLD also had 32 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 12 underway, and 50 in planning as at 2 October 2024, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are professionals, community & personal service, managers. Employment in the area leans toward healthcare and accommodation & food. The top ancestries reported are English, Australian, Irish.

The current median weekly rent is $550. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,300.

Cairns North is served by 2 schools, including 1 primary, 1 secondary. The average ICSEA score is 1055, which is above the national average of 1,000. Healthcare facilities include 1 public and 1 private hospitals. The crime rate in the Cairns LGA is higher than average at 11,007 incidents per 100,000 population.

On the investment side, Population growth of +1.0% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.

Market & money
Investment signalsHeuristics
Pop. Growth+1.0%· Stable
Development+0%· Steady
InvestmentQLD
Mortgage · mth$1,300
Rent · wk(Census)$340
Market rent · wk(Q1 2026)$550
Population growth · Cairns LGAABS ERP
Population (2025)179,334
5-year growth+1.2% CAGR
YoY change+1%
20012025
Development · Cairns LGAABS Approvals
Approvals (2026)1,127
Houses524
Units604
YoY change+0%
Employment · Cairns LGASALM
Unemployment (Dec-25)4.7%
YoY change+1.8pp
Dec-10Dec-25
Property investors · Postcode 4870ATO
Negatively geared2,406 (5% of filers)
Avg rental loss$6,256/yr
Landlords (rental income)5,886
Reported capital gains3,886
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 21
Population5,334
Median age37
Household size1.9
HH income · wk$1,402
Personal income · wk$873
Persons / bedroom0.9
SEIFA indexABS
Advantage (IRSAD)2/10
Education (IEO)8/10
Economic (IER)1/10
Disadvantage (IRSD)4/10
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets3
Pharmacies1
GP / clinics8
Fuel stations4
Cafes & dining16
Hospitals · 2AIHW
Public1
Private1
Cairns Hospitalpublic
Ramsay Clinic Cairnsprivate
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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Cairns North has enough direct local evidence for a first-pass decision.

QuickProperty mixes release files, Census baselines, and matched local services on this page. Read the status panel before treating every metric as equally fresh.

PRICE POSTURE
Prices come from release-based suburb series.

QVAS residential dwelling sales aggregated to SA2 and mapped to suburb pages

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using a state market dataset when available.

Use current rent as a starting signal, not as a fixed underwriting truth.

SERVICE POSTURE
Service coverage is matched locally, not inferred nationally.

Schools, transport, and hospitals are useful as presence signals, but they still have different source cadences.

Data status
Property prices
QGSO Housing Profiles · QVAS residential dwelling sales aggregated to SA2 and mapped to suburb pages
medium stability · automated · every update · quarterly
Missing
Market rent
Queensland RTA · Q1 2026 · State market dataset
medium stability · automated · every update · quarterly
Available
Crime
State crime dataset · Year ending Apr 2026 · Area-level release dataset
Available
Schools
ACARA 2025 · 2 schools matched
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Hospitals
AIHW · 2 hospitals matched
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Available
Transport
GTFS feeds · No matched local transport stops
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Population growth
ABS ERP · 2025 · Annual estimate series
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Building approvals
ABS Building Approvals · 2026 · Annual release series
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Available means a direct local dataset is linked. Verify means coverage exists but freshness or precision is weaker, such as ABS price fallback, Census rent fallback, or low-confidence hospital matching.

Cairns North FAQ

Common questions
  1. What LGA is Cairns North in?

    Cairns North is in the Cairns Local Government Area, QLD, postcode 4870. Council-level context for Cairns LGA (suburb mix, population, rent, and price coverage) is available on the QuickProperty LGA page.

  2. What is the typical weekly rent in Cairns North?

    The median weekly rent in Cairns North is $550/wk, based on the current market rent dataset. The current rent signal is rent context available.

  3. What does the rent signal say about Cairns North?

    Rent context available: Cairns North has usable rent context. Use this as a suburb screening signal before comparing candidates or modelling a purchase; the matching rent ranking can provide broader market context.

  4. Is Cairns North a good investment?

    QuickProperty's investment signals for Cairns North show: Stable, Steady. These are computed from price, rent, income, and population data — not an opaque score.

  5. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Cairns North?

    Property prices come from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region. Demographics are from ABS Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA. Crime statistics are from state police agencies. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  6. How often is the Cairns North data updated?

    Property prices update quarterly. RBA macro indicators update with each deploy. Demographics are from Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA 2025.