Overall score
Use the Cairns profile to compare cost framing, transport access, and tropical-resilience signals alongside Darwin, Brisbane, and other Australian metros.
Overall70/100
Affordability70/100
Air quality80/100
Energy70/100
Australia / Oceania
Cairns City Intelligence
Cairns is a tropical north-Queensland metro adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef, with tourism, agriculture, and active cyclone-and-reef-resilience work in regional comparison. Cairns is a oceania city of about ~0.16M metro in Australia. On the composite city-intelligence score, Cairns sits around the indexed median (70/100).
- Last updated
- 2026-05-16
- Data year
- 2025
- Population
- ~0.16M metro
Image credit: Image: Frances76 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall city intelligence
Good70/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Data confidence
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
Verified utility layers
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
Cairns data table
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 70/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 70/100 | Cairns's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Air Quality | 80/100 | Cairns's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated. |
| Energy | 70/100 | Cairns's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context. |
| Safety | 67/100 | Cairns's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available. |
| Internet Speed | 70/100 | Cairns's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references. |
| Climate Risk | 64/100 | Cairns's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Resilience | 64/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Safety
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Safety
Overall safety78/100
Low crime80/100
Personal safety79/100
Night safety75/100
Road safety76/100
Cairns is estimated to be a generally safe city (78/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
Quality of Life
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Quality of Life
Quality of life77/100
Healthcare85/100
Education85/100
Green space53/100
Cleanliness88/100
Infrastructure89/100
Mobility61/100
Cairns has a high quality-of-life estimate (77/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure.
Family Friendliness
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Family Friendliness
Family friendliness77/100
Education85/100
Green space53/100
Overall safety78/100
Cairns scores high for family living (77/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Digital Nomad Suitability
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Digital Nomad Suitability
Digital nomad suitability74/100
Walkability62/100
Cycling61/100
Infrastructure89/100
Cairns is high for remote workers (74/100), based on connectivity, affordability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Retirement Suitability
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Retirement Suitability
Retirement suitability77/100
Healthcare85/100
Cleanliness88/100
Outdoor lifestyle30/100
Cairns is high for retirement (77/100), appealing for healthcare access, affordability, a comfortable climate and a clean environment.
Emergency and public safety in Cairns
Local public safety guidance for Cairns, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
| Service | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Universal emergency (Triple Zero) | 00024/7 | 000 reaches police, fire, and ambulance dispatch nationally; 112 also works from mobile phones. |
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Cairns, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the Australia emergency profile.
Public safety sources
Each emergency contact above is attributed to an official emergency service or government publisher. Confirm current numbers directly with these sources.
- Australian Government: Triple Zero (000)
Used as the primary attribution for Australia's 000 universal emergency number.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare and hospitals in Cairns
Healthcare context for Cairns, with national-level information from Australia where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Cairns, see the Australia healthcare profile.
Official hospital registry
MyHospitals — Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Official Australian Government statistical agency portal with hospital information across the country.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Healthcare sources
Each entry above is attributed to an official government, public health, or recognised health-system publisher. Confirm current information directly with these sources.
- Australian Government: Australian Department of Health and Aged Care
Used as the primary federal attribution for Australian public-health context.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare — MyHospitals
Used as the official Australian hospital registry reference for verified facility lookups.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Transport and mobility in Cairns
Local mobility context for Cairns, with national-level context from Australia where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Cairns, see the Australia transport profile.
Transport sources
Each entry above is attributed to an official transport authority, national operator, airport publisher, or government source. Confirm current information directly with these publishers.
- Australian Government: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
Used as the primary federal attribution for Australian national transport context.
- Civil Aviation Safety Authority: Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Used as the primary attribution for Australian aviation authority information.
Last verified: 2026-05-16
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Air quality dataset
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Cairns. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Air quality dataset for Cairns
Verified data unavailableLast updated 2026-05-16 / data year 2025
Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location
Source-attributed values for Cairns will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Data provenance
Source attributionGlobal City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailable- Publisher
- Global City Intelligence
- Last verified
- 2026-05-16
The air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Methodology and context
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
- Scoring methodology — how indicators across the platform are constructed.
- Data sources registry — the official sources cited by verified datasets.
- Open the Cairns air-quality module
- Browse the clean-air city collection
Explore Cairns modules
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Cost of Living in Cairns
Cairns's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
Air Quality in Cairns
Cairns's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated.
Energy in Cairns
Cairns's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Safety in Cairns
Cairns's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Internet Speed in Cairns
Cairns's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Climate Risk in Cairns
Cairns's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
City rankings
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living in Cairns
Cost of living estimates for Cairns — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate in Cairns
Climate profile for Cairns — Tropical climate, annual average 25.1°C, comfort score 69/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs in Cairns
Economy and jobs profile for Cairns — regional center, economy score 76/100, key industries including mining, technology, research. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Universities and education in Cairns
Education profile for Cairns — regional education center, education score 67/100, 4 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement in Cairns
Healthcare and retirement profile for Cairns — regional healthcare center, healthcare score 70/100, retirement score 66/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Visual guide to Cairns
Source-attributed visual context for Cairns using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Weekend trip planning guide for Cairns
Weekend trip planning checklist for Cairns — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Nearby weekend places from Cairns
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Cairns
Estimate a monthly budget for Cairns using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Cairns
Plan a trip budget for Cairns using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Nearby cities from Cairns
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Cairns. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Townsville, Australia
Weekend trip · about 282 km from Cairns. Explore Townsville's city intelligence profile.
Mackay, Australia
Weekend trip · about 590 km from Cairns. Explore Mackay's city intelligence profile.
Rockhampton, Australia
Weekend trip · about 871 km from Cairns. Explore Rockhampton's city intelligence profile.
Gladstone, Australia
Same region · about 958 km from Cairns. Explore Gladstone's city intelligence profile.
Bundaberg, Australia
Same region · about 1114 km from Cairns. Explore Bundaberg's city intelligence profile.
Related collections
Regional discovery collections that include Cairns — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Australia Weekend Escapes
Weekend escapes · 27 places across 15 cities.
Queensland Weekend Escapes
Weekend escapes · 6 places across 6 cities.
Themed collections
Theme-first discovery collections that include Cairns — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Australia Hiking Areas
Hiking Areas · 50 places across 28 cities.
Australia National Park Weekends
National Park Weekends · 50 places across 28 cities.
Australia Weekend Nature Retreats
Weekend Nature Retreats · 50 places across 28 cities.
Oceania Hiking Areas
Hiking Areas · 50 places across 32 cities.
Interpretation
Use the Cairns profile to compare cost framing, transport access, and tropical-resilience signals alongside Darwin, Brisbane, and other Australian metros. Its standout dimensions are air quality (80/100) and cost of living (70/100). The area most worth watching is climate risk (64/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.
Country context is available on the Australia country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Cairns appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Sources
4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
- UN-Habitat: World Cities Report 2024
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
- NASA: NASA POWER
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
- World Health Organization: WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
- IPCC: AR6 WGII Chapter 6: Cities, settlements and key infrastructure
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.