Australia / Oceania
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).
Image credit: Image: Frances76 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Composite profile
70/100
Use the Cairns profile to compare cost framing, transport access, and tropical-resilience signals alongside Darwin, Brisbane, and other Australian metros.
70/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
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. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Cairns is estimated to be a generally safe city (78/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Cairns has a high quality-of-life estimate (77/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Cairns scores high for family living (77/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Cairns is high for remote workers (74/100), based on connectivity, affordability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Cairns is high for retirement (77/100), appealing for healthcare access, affordability, a comfortable climate and a clean environment.
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.
Each emergency contact above is attributed to an official emergency service or government publisher. Confirm current numbers directly with these sources.
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 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
Each entry above is attributed to an official government, public health, or recognised health-system publisher. Confirm current information directly with these sources.
Used as the primary federal attribution for Australian public-health context.
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.
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.
Each entry above is attributed to an official transport authority, national operator, airport publisher, or government source. Confirm current information directly with these publishers.
Used as the primary federal attribution for Australian national transport context.
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.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Cairns. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
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. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe 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).
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.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Cairns drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — strong quality of life (77/100), with nearby nature such as Daintree National Park, Barron Gorge National Park.
Strong (77/100) on safety, schools and green space.
More affordable than average; about A$2,530/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jan, coldest in Jul.
Mainly mining, technology, research.
A tropical climate, averaging about 25.1°C.
Higher education is strong (70/100).
Healthcare access is strong (70/100).
Retirement suitability is strong (66/100).
Within ~170 km: Daintree National Park, Barron Gorge National Park.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Cairns's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
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.
Cairns's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Cairns's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Cairns's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Cairns's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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 using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
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.
Weekend trip · about 282 km from Cairns. Explore Townsville's city intelligence profile.
Weekend trip · about 590 km from Cairns. Explore Mackay's city intelligence profile.
Weekend trip · about 871 km from Cairns. Explore Rockhampton's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 958 km from Cairns. Explore Gladstone's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 1114 km from Cairns. Explore Bundaberg's city intelligence profile.
Regional discovery collections that include Cairns — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Weekend escapes · 27 places across 80 cities.
Weekend escapes · 6 places across 15 cities.
Theme-first discovery collections that include Cairns — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Hiking Areas · 50 places across 78 cities.
National Park Weekends · 50 places across 80 cities.
Weekend Nature Retreats · 50 places across 77 cities.
Hiking Areas · 50 places across 77 cities.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Cairns, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Cairns has a high quality-of-life estimate (77/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure. Visitors can also reach nature such as Daintree National Park, Barron Gorge National Park and Crystal Cascades within weekend range.
Cairns has a high quality-of-life estimate (77/100), with notable strengths in healthcare, cleanliness and infrastructure. It indexes 77/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Cairns spends roughly A$2,530 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near A$1,350. Overall the city is more affordable than average for Australia. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for below-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Cairns is high for remote workers (74/100), based on connectivity, affordability, safety and overall livability and day-to-day amenities.
Cairns's labour market is strong, with opportunities concentrated in technology, education and research and healthcare. Cairns has a regional economy with strengths in mining, technology and research.
Cairns offers strong infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 81/100.
Cairns is a regional education center with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Social Sciences, Engineering and Healthcare.
Cairns offers a moderate student environment, supported by relatively affordable living, strong quality of life and good connectivity.
Cairns has a regional healthcare center, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 70/100. Residents have strong access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Cairns offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 66/100. Residents benefit from broad urban amenities and day-to-day services.
Cairns has a tropical climate, averaging about 25.1°C annually with roughly 1800 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jan and the coldest Jul. The driest is typically Aug.
Cairns is estimated to be a generally safe city (78/100 in our safety index), with solid personal-safety indicators.
Cairns indexes a walkability score of 62 and a cycling score of 61 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Cairns include Daintree National Park, Barron Gorge National Park and Crystal Cascades. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Cairns scores high for family living (77/100), helped by education access, safety and healthcare.
Cairns rates 30/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 53/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as Daintree National Park, Barron Gorge National Park and Crystal Cascades supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
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.
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.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.