Yarrabah

Schools in Yarrabah iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged

Demographics

The median age of 25 is 15.0 years below the national figure, driven by a large youth cohort and an average household size of 4.5, which is 2.0 persons above national. Indigenous language speakers number 945, reflecting Yarrabah's status as an Aboriginal community near Cairns. Overseas-born residents are just 0.2%, which is 21.4 percentage points below the national figure. University qualifications reach only 5.4%, a gap of 24.7 points below national, because the local economy centres on community services rather than knowledge industries. Couples with children (830 families) far outnumber couples without children (158 families), consistent with the young, large-household profile.

Separate houses make up 71.4% of the dwelling stock, above the Queensland state mix, with apartments at 11.6% and semi-detached at 5.6%. The most distinctive feature is the bedroom profile: 50.5% of dwellings have 4 or more bedrooms, consistent with an average household size of 4.5. Outright ownership is extremely rare at 11.7%, and mortgage holding at 0.7% is negligible, so 87.6% of the community rents, far above the national rental rate. Rent-to-income sits at 12.0%, well below the 30% stress threshold, because rents at $150 per week are low relative to incomes. The estimated median house price of $271,000 is derived from rental data rather than a deep transaction sample.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

Healthcare accounts for 37.6% of employment (105 workers), Public Administration 29.4% (82 workers) and Education 19.4% (54 workers), a concentration in government-funded services far above the national employment mix. Community and Personal Service workers are the largest occupation group at 128 people. The unemployment rate of 39.3% is exceptionally high compared to the national average, and the participation rate of just 34.2% means many working-age residents are outside the labour force. All four SEIFA indexes score decile 1, the lowest nationally, reflecting cumulative disadvantage across income, education, occupation and resources.

Transport to Work

Walking and cycling account for 16.0% of travel to work, higher than many regional Queensland suburbs, while public transport is used by only 1.7% of workers because car use at 66.3% dominates in this geographically remote location near Cairns. The suburb scores decile 1 on IRSAD, the lowest advantage tier nationally, and decile 1 on IRSD for relative disadvantage, indicating concentrated deprivation. Community need for assistance runs at 3.6% (86 people), moderate given the 39.3% unemployment rate. Volunteering sits at 7.4%. No schools are recorded in the dataset for this locality, so families rely on educational facilities accessed by road or boat from Cairns.

Population Forecast

Population sits at approximately 2,505 with annual growth of 0.3%, adding about 8 persons per year, slower than the national average rate. Over the past decade the population rose 4.2%, a modest positive trajectory. Medium forecasts project 2,716 residents by 2031. The young-share declined 4.5 points while the working-age share grew 3.4 points and senior share rose 2.1 points over the decade, reflecting gradual maturation. Net internal migration averages minus 22 persons annually, meaning more residents leave than arrive. The gentrification score of 2, with no active signals, confirms this suburb is not undergoing investment-driven transformation.

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How Yarrabah compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

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