White Rock sits 1,692 km from Brisbane CBD in Queensland, around 19 hours 25 minutes by car. Census data records 4,918 residents with a median age of 37 and a median household income of $72,592 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The suburb grew 4.0% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $340 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,343. White Rock is characterised by no recorded bushfire exposure. Walkability is low.
Is White Rock a good suburb?
White Rock scores a C (46/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on safety, weaker on transit and community.
Car-dependent
Walkability 25/100 · 1691.8 km · 1164 min drive to Brisbane
Median available
Median $664K
Low all-round risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 29/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 37 · 4,918 residents
Liveability Rating
46 / 100 · Ranked #604 in QLDEach bar is White Rock's rank among QLD suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
Flood data for Queensland covers only the areas mapped there — a blank here is not an all-clear.
How do you rate the liveability in White Rock?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
46 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataWhite Rock's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $664,000, roughly 20% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$664,000
7% below its 3 neighbours (median $712,500)
Based on 101 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 30 days — median across 52 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 50 sales $645K
- 4 bed 36 sales $688K
- 5 bed 8 sales $838K
Units
$482,000
Based on 17 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 12 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 13 sales $482K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in White Rock are currently listed at around $700,000 on average. Based on 25 houses listed in the past six months.
$700K
25 houses listed in the last 6 months.
26 of the suburb's 1,678 dwellings (1.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in White Rock rent for around $700 a week on average, based on 19 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$700/wk
In line with its 3 neighbours (median $700/wk)
19 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$472/wk
4 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
23 rentals advertised against an estimated 638 rented homes (3.6%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025107 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 28% of its income on the median rent in postcode 4868.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$700/week ($36,000 a year) on a $700,000 median
Not enough unit sales and rentals in the window to calculate a yield.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Is White Rock safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in White Rock sits in the low band, with 19 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 171% on the prior year. The longer-run trend has eased steadily across the available years.
19 offences
171.4% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2020–20249 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Where they happened
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Schools
Walkability
White Rock is car-dependent on foot — at 25/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside White Rock.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 41.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 37.8 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 22.0 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 16.4 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in White Rock.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 42%
- Premises covered
- 2,126
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Cairns: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 11 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
White Rock is home to about 4,900 residents, with a median age of 37, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $73,000 a year, with unemployment at 7.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,918
Median Age
37
Median Household Income
$72,592/yr
Census Median Rent
$340/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,343/mo
Avg Household Size
2.6
Median Personal Income
$36,088/yr
Unemployment Rate
7.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
7.2%
Total Dwellings
1,678
Owner-Occupier Rate
62.0%
Houses
74.0%
Rental Stress
24.4%
Mortgage Stress
22.2%
Work From Home
10.1%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
93 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 18 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 602 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 72.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 75.4%
- Employment Rate
- 52.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 34.2%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
81 residents (1.6%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
3.4% of residents (157) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (62).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 4,572 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 591 people work here; 2,019 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 71% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,354 a year through Cairns based on 2025 figures.
Building Approvals: Cairns
In the year to August 2026, 767 new dwellings were approved across Cairns. That mix is 681 houses and 86 units. Approvals are down 81.0% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this suburb: 213 to 850 homes
- Within 2 years 102 to 505 homes
- In 2 to 5 years 90 to 270 homes
- In 5 to 10 years 14 to 50 homes
- No timeframe set 7 to 25 homes
Land the Queensland Government's residential land supply study identifies for future housing (23 parcels), by when it expects lots to be registered. Yields are published in ranges, so these are too.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Aboriginal party for this area is Gimuy Walubara Yidinji People.
Under Queensland's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 the Aboriginal party for an area follows native title. A native title claim over this area is registered with the Federal Court.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 5.6 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 2 days exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 18.6 µg/m³. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 4.
From the Woree (Cairns, Far North Queensland) monitoring station, 2.4 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Cairns Aero, 11.7 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 7 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 4.4 km
- Annual rainfall
- 2,121 mm
- 120 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 31.9°C
- 4 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 18.1°C
- 0 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the suburb centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
5 facilities within 5 km- 1.5 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Total Phosphorus · Ammonia (total)
- 2.7 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Total Phosphorus · Ammonia (total)
- 3.3 km
- 3.7 kmRail Passenger TransportTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 4.9 km
EV adoption
In postcode 4868, 80 of 16,668 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.3% (552 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.8%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 4868, 4,861 rooftop-solar systems totalling 36.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 8,616 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 395 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$30,000 for new homes priced up to $750,000.
$30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, with no end date. IT DID NOT REVERT TO $15,000: the tier was due to end 30 June 2026 and the 2026-27 Queensland Budget (23 June 2026) continued it for contracts signed from 1 July 2026. This file carried a "due to revert" note until 2026-09-18 — it was never true, and a note predicting a change is not the same as a change. Cap is "less than $750,000" including land and contract variations — less than, not up to. New homes only: "There are no home owner grants for established homes."
Mortgage repayments
2 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 5 across postcode 4868.
Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Queensland Revenue Office
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $750,000 may qualify for $30,000 — see what qualifies with Queensland Revenue Office.
At $664,000 this is under the $750,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $30,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Queensland Revenue Office.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Matt Smith Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Matt Smith | 56.1% | 43.9% | +9.5 |
| 2022 | Warren Entsch | 46.6% | 53.4% | -0.7 |
| 2019 | Warren Entsch | 45.8% | 54.2% | +0.2 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Terry James Liberal National Party of Queensland
Next state election: 28 October 2028.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Terry James LNP | 52.7% |
| 2020 | Curtis Pitt ALP | 62.2% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2017, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Electoral Commission of Queensland.
Looking at a specific address in White Rock?
Every figure above is a suburb average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 4,918 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Featured in
- #1 in The safest suburbs in Cairns
- #2 in Highest-yielding Cairns suburbs (houses)
- #5 in Best Cairns suburbs for first-home buyers (houses)
- #5 in Cairns suburbs with the deepest rental markets
- #6 in Cairns suburbs where young families live
- #9 in The most liveable suburbs in Cairns
- #12 in Cairns suburbs with the biggest house blocks
- #14 in Cairns suburbs that added the most residents, 2016-2021
- #14 in Cairns suburbs where seniors live
- #15 in Cairns suburbs with the most apartments
- #15 in Cairns suburbs with the best public transport
Nearby suburbs
Compare White Rock to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other QLD suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about White Rock
Is White Rock a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in White Rock is low (29/100, ranked against other QLD suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect White Rock?
White Rock has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is White Rock a good place to live?
White Rock has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (46/100), ranked against other QLD suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of White Rock?
White Rock, QLD had a population of 4,918 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for White Rock, QLD?
The postcode for White Rock, QLD is 4868.
How far is White Rock from Brisbane?
White Rock is 1,692 km from Brisbane CBD by road, about 1164 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in White Rock?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in White Rock was $72,592 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in White Rock?
The median advertised rent in White Rock is $700 a week for houses (19 listings) and $472 a week for units (4 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in White Rock?
The median age of residents in White Rock was 37 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is White Rock walkable?
White Rock scores 25/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the air quality in White Rock?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to White Rock (Woree (Cairns, Far North Queensland)) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.6 µg/m³ and PM10 of 18.6 µg/m³. That puts White Rock below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in White Rock?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to White Rock, Cairns Aero (11.7 km away), summer days average 31.9°C, winter nights 18.1°C, 2,121 mm of rain a year over 120 rainy days, and 4 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in White Rock?
First-home buyers in QLD may be eligible for $30,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $750,000. The grant is administered by Queensland Revenue Office; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does White Rock belong to?
White Rock sits within the Cairns local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in White Rock?
The average residential rates bill through Cairns is $1,354 a year (2025). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near White Rock?
Across Cairns, 767 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 81.0% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is White Rock in?
White Rock sits within the federal Division of Leichhardt, currently held by Matt Smith (Australian Labor Party).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2025–26
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2020–2024
- Air quality · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2024
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.