Cairns

Demographics & education

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

In the 2016 Census, there were 144,730 people in Cairns. Of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.9% of the population.

The median age of people in Cairns was 37 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 20.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.4% of the population.

Of people in Cairns aged 15 years and over, 41.7% were married and 14.4% were either divorced or separated.

In Cairns, of people aged 15 years and over, 41.6% of people were in a registered marriage and 14.4% were in a de facto marriage.

In Cairns 32.4% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 27.0% were in primary school, 20.3% in secondary school and 16.0% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Cairns, 16.1% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 19.4% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 9.4% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Cairns were English 25.1%, Australian 24.3%, Irish 8.3%, Scottish 6.8% and German 3.8%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Cairns (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Cairns, 67.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 4.0%, New Zealand 3.1%, Papua New Guinea 1.5%, Philippines 1.2% and Japan 1.1%.

In Cairns, 50.4% of people had both parents born in Australia and 27.0% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Cairns, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 56.7%, England 6.0%, New Zealand 3.8%, Papua New Guinea 1.5% and Italy 1.4%.

In Cairns, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 57.4%, England 5.7%, New Zealand 3.8%, Papua New Guinea 2.0% and Philippines 1.8%.

The most common responses for religion in Cairns were No Religion, so described 32.1%, Catholic 22.4%, Anglican 13.2%, Not stated 12.2% and Uniting Church 3.6%. In Cairns, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (58.0%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Cairns 76.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Japanese 1.6%, Mandarin 0.8%, Italian 0.7%, Korean 0.7% and German 0.6%.

Employment

There were 72,579 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Cairns. Of these 57.6% were employed full time, 29.8% were employed part-time and 7.7% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Of employed people in Cairns, 9.7% worked 1 to 15 hours, 8.8% worked 16 to 24 hours and 41.2% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Cairns included Professionals 19.6%, Technicians and Trades Workers 14.7%, Community and Personal Service Workers 14.0%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 13.3%, Sales Workers 10.9%, Managers 10.8%, Labourers 9.7% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 5.4%.

Of the employed people in Cairns, the most common responses for industry of employment included Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 5.8%, Accommodation 3.5%, Cafes and Restaurants 2.7%, Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.5% and Primary Education 2.3%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Cairns was $697.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

In Cairns, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 68.4%, Car, as passenger 6.2%, Worked at home 3.7%, Walked only 3.2% and Bicycle 1.9%. On the day, 2.4% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 75.7% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Cairns, of people aged 15 years and over, 68.1% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 27.5% provided care for children and 9.7% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 18.3% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Cairns, 27.6% worked 5 to 14 hours, 11.0% worked 15 to 29 hours and 8.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Cairns, 40.2% were couple families with children, 38.2% were couple families without children and 20.0% were one parent families.

In Cairns, 18.1% of single parents were male and 81.9% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Cairns, of couple families with children, 25.0% had both partners employed full-time, 4.4% had both employed part-time and 21.5% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Cairns, 89.5% of private dwellings were occupied and 10.5% were unoccupied.

View the data quality statements for: Dwelling type (DWTD) Dwelling Structure (STRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Cairns, 69.7% were separate houses, 10.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 18.4% were flats or apartments and 0.9% were other dwellings.

In Cairns, of occupied private dwellings 5.6% had 1 bedroom, 21.9% had 2 bedrooms and 36.2% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3. The average household size was 2.5 people.

View the data quality statements for: Number of bedrooms in a private dwelling (BEDD) Number of persons usually resident in dwelling (NPRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Cairns, 22.9% were owned outright, 33.2% were owned with a mortgage and 40.0% were rented.

Household composition

In Cairns, of all households, 68.6% were family households, 26.4% were single person households and 5.0% were group households.

In Cairns, 20.4% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 11.4% of households had a weekly income of more than $3000.

Mortgage & rent

Proportions are calculated using all tenure types for occupied private dwellings. This excludes visitor only and other non-classifiable households.

The number of households where rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were not renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

The number of households where mortgage repayments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

Number of motor vehicles

In Cairns, 37.0% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 36.9% had two registered motor vehicles and 14.8% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Cairns, 82.4% of households had at least one person access the internet from the dwelling. This could have been through a desktop/laptop computer, mobile or smart phone, tablet, music or video player, gaming console, smart TV or any other device.

People characteristics

In Cairns, 47.0% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 53.0% were female. The median age was 22 years.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Indigenous status (INGP)

Dwelling characteristics

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households. These tables represent occupied private dwellings where at least one Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander person was present.

In Cairns, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.1 persons, with 1.1 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,086.

View the data quality statements for: Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD) Household composition (HHCD) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Cairns, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $260 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,719.

View the data quality statements for: Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)