Cairns's highest-income suburbs

Redlynch leads on income, with a median household income of $2,317 a week ($120,484 a year). Across the ranking, median household incomes run from $1,643 to $2,317 a week. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 30 eligible Cairns suburbs.

Each Cairns suburb is ranked by its median total household income per week from the 2021 Census — the income of the middle household when every household is lined up from lowest to highest. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents are included, and percentile ranks are computed within Cairns's pool, so the list reflects standing relative to other metro suburbs.

Household income captures the combined earnings of everyone living together, which is what actually funds a mortgage or rent. Personal-income medians are pulled down by students, retirees and part-time workers, so they understate the earning power of a suburb. We use the median rather than the average so a handful of very high earners can't skew the figure.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census question on household income. Nothing is estimated or inferred about any individual household, and this is a factual demographic snapshot rather than a judgement about any suburb.

The figures are from the 2021 Census, the most recent available until results from the August 2026 Census are released in 2027. Incomes have risen since, so treat these as a way to compare suburbs rather than a present-day dollar figure. The top 15 is recomputed whenever we refresh the census data.