Median house price
—
No data available
QLD · Cairns Council
Palm Cove, 4879
Est. population · Jun 2025
2,643
Growth (1 yr)
+1.7%
Growth (5 yr)
+7.7%
Median age
53
Median income
$1,527/wk
Employment rate
53%
Languages at home
11%non-English
Most common: German, Japanese, French
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Coastal
- Green suburb
- High desirability
- Café precinct
Suburb profile
Palm Cove is a coastal smaller community a long way from Brisbane, where beach life and a quieter rhythm set the tone. Retirees and empty-nesters are well represented here, with multiple generations sharing the same neighbourhood. The suburb has a clear multicultural mix alongside longer-term local households.
Food and coffee punch above the usual for coastal suburbs, giving the suburb a lived-in social scene. Parks and open space are a real strength relative to many coastal suburbs, easy for walks, sport and weekend downtime. Reasonably walkable — many errands reachable on foot or by bus, and buses help with longer trips.
Property sits in a premium price band and is harder to enter for many buyers. This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.
Against similar coastal suburbs, the suburb sits around average overall, mainly because community and employment lag behind, despite relative strength in safety.
At a glance
Palm Cove snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
$600/wk
Population (ERP)
2,643
+1.7% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
26.1%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Livability profile
Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)
How it compares
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Desirability
#24
among Coastal & beach · Mature
Safety
17th
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
70th
percentile in QLD
Advantage (IRSAD)
7/10
national SEIFA decile
Population growth
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Housing mix
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Risks & flags
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Living here
Desirability
Ranks & confidence
- Desirability score
- 51.0/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 30% of Queensland's suburbs
- National rank
- 2031st in Australia
- State rank
- 449th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #24 among Coastal & beach · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #58 among Coastal & beach suburbs
- Data confidence
- 62%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Housing
- All types (Mar 2026)
- $600
Median weekly rent from Queensland RTA rental bond data. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)
Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum
Data sources & freshness
- RTA bond statistics — Residential Tenancies Authority (Queensland) · Mar 2026 · Updated · Quarterly releases
Population
Estimated resident population
2,643(June 2025)
+1.7% annual · +7.7% over 5 years · 70th percentile in QLD
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- +1.7%
- 5-year growth
- +7.7%
- Change in 1 year
- +45
- Change in 5 years
- +188
- Growth rank in QLD
- 70th percentile
ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.
Methodology
Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.
The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~2,850), extrapolated at +1.5% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 2,450
- Median age
- 53
- Median household income / week
- $1,527
- Dwelling vacancy
- 26.1%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 353 of 1,353
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Employment rate
- 53%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 657 / 118 / 212
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 · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries
Community & culture
No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Offence counts & rates
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Aug 2026)
- 68
- Against the person
- 11
- Against property
- 43
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 25.7
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 223 residents
- State safety percentile
- 17.1th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +5.1%
Most common offence types
- Drug Offences52
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)89
- Unlawful Entry184
- Unlawful Use Of Motor Vehicle68
- Assault69
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Aug 2026; Jan 2026 to Aug 2026 · Updated · Calendar-year aggregates
Family & Lifestyle
Amenities
131 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
19 restaurants · 6 cafes · 1 pharmacies · 1 places of worship · 4 playgrounds · 6 swimming pools · 1 post offices
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Reasonably walkable — many errands reachable on foot or by bus
- Good local dining options — 25 food & drink venues nearby
- Great for outdoor family life — 5 parks mapped in suburb, 4 playgrounds nearby
- Strong local sport and recreation — 10 sport and outdoor facilities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 56/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 2.45
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 10.2
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 2.04
Food & drink(25)
- Chill CaféCafe
- Cocky's Espresso Coffee Bar & CafeCafe
- Deli aDriftCafe
- NumiCafe
- Pete's PlaceCafe
- The Beach Hut Cafe & Juice BarCafe
- Aloha Bar & GrillRestaurant
- Apres Beach Bar & GrillRestaurant
119 Williams Esplanade, Palm Cove
- Beach AlmondRestaurant
- Bella Baci Seafood & Italian RestaurantRestaurant
- Choc Dee Thai RestaurantRestaurant
- Coffee HavenRestaurant
- El Greko Greek TavernaRestaurant
- Il Forno PizzeriaRestaurant
- KushiRestaurant
- Lime & PepperRestaurant
- MaharajasRestaurant
- Ming DynastyRestaurant
- Nu Nu RestaurantRestaurant
- Nu Nu Restaurant & BarRestaurant
- Palm Cove TavernRestaurant
- Reef HouseRestaurant
- The Rising SunRestaurant
- Vivo Bar & GrillRestaurant
- Wok On Noodle BarRestaurant
Shopping(5)
- Palm Cove Supermarket & DeliConvenience store
- Palms Supermarket & Cafe VeiversConvenience store
- Pete's PlaceConvenience store
- The Pantry @ The CoveConvenience store
Health & services(2)
- Palm Cove HealthClinic
- Pharmacy
Sport & outdoors(16)
- Argentea ParkPark
- Goldfinch ParkPark
- Park (2)
- Tom McDonald ParkPark
- Picnic area
- Playground (4)
- HotelpoolSwimming pool
- Swimming pool (5)
Transport(7)
7 bus stops
Other(49)
- Liquorland ExpressAlcohol
- ATM (2)
- Palm Tree TunnelAttraction
- Bbq (4)
- Bench (3)
- Bicycle Parking
- Car Rental
- Palm Cove car rentalsCar Rental
- Palm Cove Caravan Park & CampgroundCaravan Site
- Clothes
- Shak clothingClothes
- Drinking water (7)
- Fontaine eauDrinking water
- Fountain (3)
- Gift
- Hairdresser
- Alamanda Palm Cove by LancemoreHotel
1 Veivers Road
- Alassio Palm CoveHotel
- Coral Coast Palm CoveHotel
- Coral HorizonsHotel
- Island ViewsHotel
- Mantra AmphoraHotel
- Marlin Waters Beachfront ApartmentsHotel
- Melaleuca ResortHotel
- Oasis Palm CoveHotel
- Palm Cove Tropic ApartmentsHotel
- Paradise on the BeachHotel
- ParingaHotel
- Periwinkle ApartmentsHotel
- Pullman Palm Cove Sea Temple Resort & SpaHotel
- Reef House Resort & SpaHotel
- Rockford EsplanadeHotel
- SanctuaryHotel
- SarayiHotel
- The Beach ClubHotel
- The Reef RetreatHotel
10 -14 Harpa Street 10 - 14 4879 Cairns Palm Cove QLD AUS
- TranquilityHotel
- Villa ParadisoHotel
111-117 Williams Esplanade, Palm Cove
- Palm Cove Visitor Information & Booking CentreInformation
- Parking (8)
- Picnic Table (2)
- Place of worship
- Australia PostPost office
- Public toilets
- Shelter (2)
- Shower (3)
- Slipway
- Telephone (3)
- Waste Basket (2)
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Parks & reserves
3 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Argentea ParkPark
- Goldfinch ParkPark
- Tom McDonald ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 20
- Parks (OSM)
- 5
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 — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Places of worship
1 places of worship within ~1.5 km
- Place of worship
From OpenStreetMap within ~1.5 km of the suburb centre.
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
- 2
- Nearest hospital
- Cairns North Community Health Facility (19.7 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- Not in suburb
- Palm Cove HealthClinic
- PharmacyPharmacy
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
NDIS participation
- NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
- 55
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 20.8
Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.
For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.
Data sources & freshness
- NDIS participants by SA2 — National Disability Insurance Agency · 2026-Q1 · Updated · Quarterly SA2 counts allocated to suburb boundaries
Weather
Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.
Summer (Dec–Feb)
- Usual max / min
- 31° / 25°
- Rainfall
- 1,038 mm · ~90 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 29° / 24°
- Rainfall
- 925 mm · ~92 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 25° / 20°
- Rainfall
- 164 mm · ~20 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 28° / 22°
- Rainfall
- 188 mm · ~24 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
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 · current · Updated
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Leichhardt
- Member of Parliament
- Matt SMITH (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 122,757
- Turnout (2025)
- 83.0%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +9.5 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 43.9%Labor 56.1%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 9.7 km away).
Coalition 49.4%Labor 50.6%
5.4 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +11.4 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- Palm CoveLabor 50.0% · Coalition 50.0% TPP (2025)1.0 km away
- Clifton BeachLabor 48.9% · Coalition 51.1% TPP (2025)2.8 km away
- Kewarra BeachLabor 51.8% · Coalition 48.2% TPP (2025)5.6 km away
- Trinity BeachLabor 57.9% · Coalition 42.1% TPP (2025)6.1 km away
- Trinity ParkLabor 56.9% · Coalition 43.1% TPP (2025)8.0 km away
Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.
Data sources & freshness
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
Socio-economic
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 7/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 6/10
ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?
IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.
IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.
A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
Compare with
Similar suburbs to weigh up side by side — scores, safety, schools, and lifestyle.
More in Cairns Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.