QLD · Cairns Council
Babinda, 4861
Current weather
19.9°CMainly clear
93% humidity · 4.1 km/h wind · 24.4° / 18.1° today · 2.5 mm rain
Desirability score
- Affordable
- Green space
- Schools
- Shops
- Regional
Suburb profile
Babinda is a regional centre in Cairns that balances local services with a more relaxed pace of life. Distance from the capital is noticeable, but the trade-off is space, calm and a community that knows its neighbours. Retirees and empty-nesters are well represented here, with families and grandchildren still a visible part of community life.
Weekends tend to revolve around local favourites: a café, a market run, a walk through town. Local parks and tree cover add a welcome outdoor dimension to suburban life. Homes are relatively affordable, which helps families and first-time residents put down roots.
The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
On the desirability index, the suburb sits below average overall, mainly because local dining and lifestyle amenities and community and employment lag similar regional towns, despite relative strength in transport and access. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 1,287
- Median age
- 48
- Median household income / week
- $1,048
- Dwelling vacancy
- 12.5%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 71 of 569
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,108
- Employment rate
- 43.4%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 31 / 21 / 0
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 59
- Against the person
- 13
- Against property
- 27
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 45.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 99 residents
- State safety percentile
- 60.7th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +18.9%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Drug Offences10
- Good Order Offences6
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)14
- Traffic And Related Offences12
- Unlawful Entry11
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 2
- Median school ICSEA (2 schools)
- 915.5
- Babinda State SchoolCombined
- St Rita's SchoolPrimary
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Amenities
11 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bendigo BankATM
- BabindaBus stop
- Joy's Crystal ShopEsoteric
- Fountain
- Cairns Regional CouncilPlayground
- Babinda PolicePolice
10 Munro Street, Babinda
- Public toilets
- Sanitary Dump Station
- Shelter
- Shower
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
3 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Anzac ParkPark
- Bill Wakeham ParkPark
- Hardwood Drive ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 3
- Emergency department
- Not in suburb
- Babinda Doctorsdoctor
- Babinda Multi-Purpose Health Serviceclinic
- Mamu Aboriginal Healthcaredoctor
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 1/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 1/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Heritage
2 state heritage places
- Babinda Air Raid ShelterState heritage place
- Babinda HotelState heritage place
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Period: current · Updated on site
Childcare
2 childcare services from OpenStreetMap
- Babinda Day CarePollard Roadkindergarten
- Babinda Kindergarternkindergarten
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Period: current · Updated on site
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 7
- Parks (OSM)
- 3
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability index
- Desirability score
- 35.3/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 4202nd in Australia
- State rank
- 982nd in QLD
- Peer rank
- #208 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #537 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 77%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Drug Offencescrime10
- Good Order Offencescrime6
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)crime14
- Traffic And Related Offencescrime12
- Unlawful Entrycrime11
- Babinda Day CarechildcarePollard Roadkindergarten
- Babinda Kindergarternchildcarekindergarten
- Babinda Air Raid ShelterheritageState heritage place
- Babinda HotelheritageState heritage place
- Babinda Doctorshealthdoctor
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Updated on site
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Updated on site
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Updated on site
More in Cairns Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Similar suburbs
Suburbs with a similar population, SEIFA decile and location.