Best suburbs to live in Cairns
Every suburb in the Cairns urban area.
Median house and unit prices, asking rents, population and school quality for every Cairns suburb, side by side.
Cairns median house prices range from $580,000 to $1.19 million.
The Cairns urban area had 164,149 residents at 30 June 2025: +5.7% over five years and +0.9% in the last year (ABS estimates).
11,409 residents
3,131 sales, Oct 2024 – Oct 2026
Median house price by suburb
Each suburb is shaded by its median sold house price, in five equal-sized bands. Suburbs with no recent recorded sales are shown in grey — they are not the cheapest, they are unknown.
Boundaries: ABS Suburbs and Localities (SAL) 2021, simplified for display.
Popular rankings for Cairns
- Best Cairns suburbs for families with good primary schoolsRanked top-15 · family + primary schools
- Best Cairns suburbs for families with good high schoolsRanked top-15 · family + high schools
- Best Cairns suburbs for electric-vehicle adoptionRanked top-15 · EV-friendly suburbs
- Best Cairns suburbs to rent inRanked top-15 · best suburbs to rent
- Best Cairns suburbs for public transportRanked top-15 · transit-friendly suburbs
- Fastest growing Cairns suburbs (2016-2021)Ranked top-15 · fastest growing
- Sportiest Cairns suburbsRanked top-15 · most sport facilities
- Cairns suburbs where the most people cycle to workRanked top-15 · most cycle to work
- Most walkable Cairns suburbsRanked top-15 · most walkable
- Best Cairns suburbs for NBN internetRanked top-15 · best NBN connectivity
- Best Cairns suburbs for rental yieldRanked top-15 · highest rental yield
- Best Cairns suburbs for property investorsRanked top-15 · investor-friendly suburbs
- Best Cairns suburbs for owner-occupiersRanked top-15 · owner-occupier suburbs
- Best Cairns suburbs for young professionalsRanked top-15 · young professionals
- Best Cairns suburbs for first-home buyersRanked top-15 · first-home buyer picks
- Cairns suburbs where young families liveRanked top-15 · where young families live
- Cairns suburbs where seniors liveRanked top-15 · where seniors live
- Cairns's most educated suburbsRanked top-15 · most educated suburbs
- Cairns's highest-income suburbsRanked top-15 · highest household income
- Safest suburbs in CairnsRanked top-15 · safest suburbs
- Most liveable suburbs in CairnsRanked top-15 · most liveable suburbs
- Suburbs to avoid in CairnsRanked top-15 · suburbs to avoid
- Best beachside suburbs in CairnsRanked top-15 · beachside suburbs
- Greenest suburbs in CairnsRanked top-15 · greenest suburbs
- Suburbs with the biggest blocks in CairnsRanked top-15 · biggest blocks
- Suburbs where rents are rising fastest in CairnsRanked top-15 · rents rising fastest
- Best Cairns suburbs for rooftop solarRanked top-15 · rooftop solar suburbs
- Cairns suburbs where homes are owned outrightRanked top-15 · homes owned outright
- Cairns suburbs people moved to from the cityRanked top-15 · moved from the city
- Cairns suburbs with the most apartmentsRanked top-15 · most apartments
Community demographics in Cairns
- Cairns suburbs with the largest Hindu communityRanked top-15 · largest Hindu community
- Cairns suburbs with the largest non-religious populationRanked top-15 · largest non-religious population
Suburbs with the largest religious communities, from the 2021 Census.
Where communities live in Cairns
- Where the Indian community lives in CairnsRanked top-15 · Indian community
- Where the Korean community lives in CairnsRanked top-15 · Korean community
- Where the British community lives in CairnsRanked top-15 · British community
- Where the Nepali community lives in CairnsRanked top-15 · Nepali community
Suburbs with the largest ancestry communities, showing ancestry, country of birth and language together, from the 2021 Census.
Most Populated Suburbs
Fastest Growing Suburbs
Most New Housing
Best Schools Quality
Most Expensive Houses
Most Affordable Houses
Highest Rental Yield (Houses)
Common questions about Cairns
How many suburbs are there in Cairns?
SuburbScan indexes 38 suburbs in Cairns, covering the Cairns urban area, home to 153,091 residents.
What is the largest suburb in Cairns?
Edmonton is the most populated suburb in Cairns with a population of 11,409 (ABS Census 2021).
What are the best Cairns suburbs?
The top-rated Cairns suburbs on SuburbScan are Freshwater, Kanimbla, and Brinsmead, ranked by our composite Liveability grade combining school quality, safety, SEIFA socio-economic advantage, walkability and CBD access.
Which are the most affordable Cairns suburbs?
The most affordable Cairns suburbs by median house price are Manoora, Bungalow, and Manunda, based on the last six months of public property listings.
What is the median house price range in Cairns?
Cairns median house prices range from $579,500 to $1,190,000, based on the last six months of public property listings.
Popular tags in QLD
City boundaries are ABS Significant Urban Areas (Edition 3, 2021) — an urban centre, or group of connected urban centres, with a population of 10,000 or more. All cities