Cairns suburbs where homes are owned outright

Bayview Heights tops the ranking, where 41.2% of homes are owned outright — no mortgage against them (617 dwellings). Palm Cove and Caravonica follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 30 eligible Cairns suburbs.

This page ranks Cairns suburbs by the share of occupied private dwellings owned outright — owned with no mortgage against them — at the 2021 Census. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents are ranked.

Owned outright is a narrower measure than owner-occupied, and the difference is the point: a suburb can be almost entirely owner-occupied and still be mostly mortgaged. The share here is dwellings owned without a mortgage divided by all dwellings whose tenure was reported — outright, mortgaged and rented added together, because the ABS publishes a count per tenure type and no total. High shares tend to mark established, older, low-turnover places rather than desirable ones, and that is a description of who lives there now, not a recommendation.

Cairns suburbs where the most homes are owned outright

Ranked by the share of occupied private dwellings owned without a mortgage at the 2021 Census, among suburbs with at least 2,000 residents. Owned outright is a narrower measure than owner-occupied — it excludes everyone still paying one off.

1

Bayview Heights

QLD 4868 · 4,175 residents

41.2% of homes owned outright · 617 dwellings

B 100.0
2

Palm Cove

QLD 4879 · 2,450 residents

41.2% of homes owned outright · 398 dwellings

C 96.5
3

Caravonica

QLD 4878 · 2,183 residents

35.4% of homes owned outright · 276 dwellings

C 93.1
4

Clifton Beach

QLD 4879 · 3,192 residents

35.0% of homes owned outright · 438 dwellings

B 89.7
5

Whitfield

QLD 4870 · 4,262 residents

33.9% of homes owned outright · 559 dwellings

C 86.2
6

Edge Hill

QLD 4870 · 4,088 residents

32.4% of homes owned outright · 516 dwellings

C 82.8
7

Kewarra Beach

QLD 4879 · 6,133 residents

32.2% of homes owned outright · 723 dwellings

B 79.3
8

Freshwater

QLD 4870 · 2,142 residents

31.8% of homes owned outright · 275 dwellings

A 75.9
9

Mooroobool

QLD 4870 · 7,136 residents

31.7% of homes owned outright · 791 dwellings

D 72.4
10

Cairns City

QLD 4870 · 3,616 residents

31.6% of homes owned outright · 262 dwellings

B 69.0
11

Earlville

QLD 4870 · 4,200 residents

31.5% of homes owned outright · 497 dwellings

D 65.5
12

Kanimbla

QLD 4870 · 2,827 residents

31.2% of homes owned outright · 291 dwellings

B 62.1
13

Brinsmead

QLD 4870 · 5,537 residents

30.4% of homes owned outright · 564 dwellings

B 58.6
14

Holloways Beach

QLD 4878 · 2,398 residents

28.8% of homes owned outright · 279 dwellings

C 55.2
15

Mount Sheridan

QLD 4868 · 8,678 residents

28.5% of homes owned outright · 848 dwellings

C 51.7

Ranked from 30 qualifying suburbs.

How we ranked these

100% share of occupied private dwellings owned WITHOUT a mortgage in the 2021 Census, divided by all dwellings whose tenure was reported — owned outright, mortgaged and rented added together, because the ABS publishes a count per tenure type and no total — and percentile-ranked within Cairns's candidate pool. A narrower measure than owner-occupied, which counts everyone still paying one off. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents qualify, and the larger absolute number of outright-owned dwellings breaks ties. Descriptive ABS Census data, not a recommendation. See how we calculate for the full methodology.

Common questions about this ranking

What are the cairns suburbs where homes are owned outright?

Bayview Heights tops the ranking, where 41.2% of homes are owned outright — no mortgage against them (617 dwellings). Palm Cove and Caravonica follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 30 eligible Cairns suburbs.

How is this ranking put together?

Each Cairns suburb is ranked by the share of its occupied private dwellings owned without a mortgage in the 2021 Census. The denominator is every dwelling whose tenure was reported — owned outright, owned with a mortgage and rented, added together — because the Census publishes a count per tenure type and no total. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents are included.

How is this different from owner-occupied?

Owner-occupied counts everyone who owns the home they live in, mortgage or not. This counts only those who owe nothing on it. A suburb can be almost entirely owner-occupied and still be mostly mortgaged, so the two lists are not the same list.

What does a high share tell me about a suburb?

Usually that it is established and that people have stayed: paying off a mortgage takes decades, so outright ownership concentrates where residents are older and turnover is low. It is a description of who lives there now, not a measure of how desirable or affordable the suburb is.

How current is it?

The figures are from the 2021 Census, the most recent available until results from the August 2026 Census are released in 2027. The top 15 is recomputed whenever we refresh the census data.

Same list in other cities

Related

Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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