Cairns at a glance
- Cairns ranks 4th of 15 priced cities in Australia on cost: $2,143 a month in essentials, 22% above Wollongong, the cheapest.
- The average net salary of $4,413 covers that 2.1×.
- 95.2 men per 100 women aged 20–39, measured at SA3 (statistical area) level.
- PM2.5 averages 4.6 µg/m³ a year, 1× the WHO guideline of 5.
Green is the better side of each figure. Every line is computed from the tables below.
Monthly cost breakdown
Rent outside centre plus utilities, groceries, dining and local transport make up the essentials figure. Not a full lifestyle budget. The middle column is the median across the 15 Australia cities we track, so every row says whether Cairns is the cheap side of its own market or the dear one. Green is the better side of each row.
| Essentials, monthlyrent outside centre + bills + food + transit | $2,143 | $2,315 | $172 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent, 1-bed outside centremonthly, USD | $1,236 | $1,382 | $146 |
| Rent, 1-bed city centremonthly, USD | $1,464 | $1,737 | $273 |
| Groceriesmonthly, one person | $246 | $196 | 1.26× as much |
| Dining outmonthly, one person | $413 | $400 | $13 |
| Utilitiesmonthly: power, water, heating, internet | $232 | $244 | $12 |
| Local transportmonthly pass or fare equivalent | $16 | $93 | 5.81× as much |
| Average net salarymonthly, after tax; average, not median | $4,413 | $4,199 | $213 |
| Rent, 3-bed outside centremonthly, USD | $1,975 | $1,975 | same |
| Rent, 3-bed city centremonthly, USD | $2,295 | $2,517 | $222 |
Single person, USD. Data updated August 6, 2026.
Everyday prices
What single items cost in Cairns, in USD. The monthly figures above are built from these. Cheaper side of each row in green.
Eating out
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $17.63 | $17.63 | same |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal for 2, mid-range, three courses | $98.75 | $84.30 | $14.45 |
| McMeal at McDonald's | $12.70 | $10.58 | $2.12 |
| Cappuccino, regular | $4.41 | $4.00 | $0.41 |
| Domestic beer, 0.5 L draught | $7.05 | $8.08 | $1.03 |
| Imported beer, 0.33 L bottle | $8.46 | $7.73 | $0.73 |
| Coke/Pepsi, 0.33 L | $3.24 | $2.85 | $0.39 |
| Water, 0.33 L bottle | $2.73 | $2.42 | $0.31 |
Groceries
| Milk, 1 L | $1.91 | $1.72 | $0.19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White bread, 500 g | $2.74 | $2.66 | $0.08 |
| White rice, 1 kg | $2.53 | $2.14 | $0.39 |
| Eggs, 12 | $5.29 | $5.25 | $0.04 |
| Local cheese, 1 kg | $9.40 | $9.80 | $0.40 |
| Chicken fillets, 1 kg | $13.87 | $9.40 | 1.48× as much |
| Apples, 1 kg | $4.14 | $3.87 | $0.27 |
| Bananas, 1 kg | $2.82 | $2.96 | $0.14 |
| Tomatoes, 1 kg | $5.87 | $4.67 | 1.26× as much |
| Potatoes, 1 kg | $2.56 | $2.78 | $0.22 |
| Onions, 1 kg | $2.56 | $2.41 | $0.15 |
| Water, 1.5 L bottle | $2.59 | $1.63 | 1.59× as much |
Transport & bills
| One-way ticket, local transport | $3.53 | $3.00 | $0.53 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly transit pass | $15.52 | $93.29 | 6.01× as much |
| Taxi start | $2.61 | $3.51 | 1.34× as much |
| Taxi, 1 km | $1.97 | $1.61 | $0.36 |
| Gasoline, 1 L | $1.24 | $1.28 | $0.04 |
| Basic utilities, 85 m² flat | $164.58 | $187.78 | $23.20 |
| Internet, 60 Mbps+ | $67.01 | $56.53 | $10.48 |
| Mobile plan, monthly | $35.27 | $28.89 | $6.38 |
Leisure
| Gym, monthly | $45.14 | $55.19 | $10.05 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinema, one seat | $14.11 | $15.52 | $1.41 |
Dating-age sex ratio
Cairns has 95.2 men per 100 women aged 20–39 (SA3 (statistical area) level). That is the 14th-highest of 16 Australia cities we track. Australia's national figure is 102.1, so Cairns runs 7 below the country as a whole.
A supply figure, 20–39. The dating-pool model is in Pro.
How Cairns ranks against every city we track
Cairns sits ahead of 95% of the 898 cities we track on clean air. On local salary it is ahead of 94% of 545. Its weakest measure is safety, ahead of only 10% of 562.
Longer is better on every row: bar length is where Cairns sits among all the cities carrying that measure, which is why the count differs by row.
Need the full Australia model?
Open the gated deep-dive for city shortlist, cost detail, weather, visa, tax, dating-market signals, and subregion rankings.
Unlock Australia deep-dive
Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
