Powered by .id (informed decisions) for Cairns Regional Council
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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Cairns, 28.9% of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 24% in Regional QLD.
Dwelling Type is an important determinant of Cairns's residential role and function. A greater concentration of higher density dwellings is likely to attract more young adults and smaller households, often renting. Larger, detached or separate dwellings are more likely to attract families and prospective families. The residential built form often reflects market opportunities or planning policy, such as building denser forms of housing around public transport nodes or employment centres.
Dwelling Type statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Household Types, Housing Tenure and Age Structure for a more complete picture of the housing market in Cairns.
If you're looking at this data to prepare a housing strategy, learn more here.
Q:
Derived from the Census:
'Dwelling Structure is derived from the ABS address register supplemented with information from Census Field Officers.'
| Dwelling structure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns - Dwellings (Enumerated) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Regional QLD % | Number | % | Regional QLD % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Separate house | 49,548 | 68.5 | 72.4 | 46,327 | 67.4 | 73.0 | +3,221 |
| Medium density | 14,132 | 19.5 | 16.3 | 13,798 | 20.1 | 16.0 | +334 |
| High density | 6,785 | 9.4 | 8.0 | 6,194 | 9.0 | 6.8 | +591 |
| Caravans, cabin, houseboat | 1,101 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1,473 | 2.1 | 2.8 | -372 |
| Other | 223 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 365 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -142 |
| Not stated | 547 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 599 | 0.9 | 0.8 | -52 |
| Total Private Dwellings | 72,336 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 68,756 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +3,580 |
| Dwelling type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Regional QLD % | Number | % | Regional QLD % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Occupied private dwellings | 65,917 | 90.8 | 88.9 | 62,267 | 90.2 | 87.9 | +3,650 |
| Unoccupied private dwellings | 6,426 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 6,483 | 9.4 | 11.7 | -57 |
| Non private dwellings | 281 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 300 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -19 |
| Total dwellings | 72,624 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 69,050 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +3,574 |
Dominant groups
In 2021, there were 49,548 separate houses in the area, 14,132 medium density dwellings, and 6,785 high density dwellings. In addition, there were 1,101 caravans/cabins/houseboats in the area.
Analysis of the types of dwellings in Cairns in 2021 shows that 68.5% of all dwellings were separate houses; 19.5% were medium density dwellings, and 9.4% were in high density dwellings, compared with 72.4%, 16.3%, and 8.0% in the Regional QLD respectively.
In 2021, a total of 90.8% of the dwellings in Cairns were occupied on Census night, compared to 88.9% in Regional QLD. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 8.8%, which is smaller compared to that found in Regional QLD (10.7%).
Emerging groups
The total number of dwellings in Cairns increased by 3,574 between 2016 and 2021.
The largest changes in the type of dwellings found in Cairns between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Separate house (+3,221 dwellings)
- High density (+591 dwellings)
- Caravans, cabin, houseboat (-372 dwellings)
- Medium density (+334 dwellings)
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