QLD · Cairns Council
Manunda, 4870
Current weather
20.7°CClear sky
85% humidity · 8.1 km/h wind · 25.6° / 17.9° today · 0 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- Dog friendly
- National parks
- Cycling
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Manunda anchors everyday life in Cairns, a regional mid-sized suburb with its own identity and rhythm. Distance from the capital is noticeable, but the trade-off is space, calm and a community that knows its neighbours. Tree-lined streets and leafy pockets give the suburb a noticeably green, settled character.
Working households and growing families are the backbone of local life, with plenty of young families in the mix. The town centre holds its own, with enough local flavour to make staying close to home appealing. Outdoor life is easy here, with generous parks and room for kids, dogs and weekend strolls.
The area offers approachable housing costs alongside a lifestyle that still feels complete. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
The desirability score is around average, weighed down by weaker community and employment and safety against similar regional towns, even with parks and green space holding up better.
Population
- Population
- 5,191
- Median age
- 39
- Median household income / week
- $1,069
- Dwelling vacancy
- 10%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 241 of 2,416
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Employment rate
- 50.1%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 179 / 289 / 1,023
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Housing
- All types (Mar 2026)
- $430
Median weekly rent from Queensland RTA rental bond data. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)
Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum
Data sources & freshness
- RTA bond statistics — Residential Tenancies Authority (Queensland) · Period: Mar 2026 · Updated on site · Quarterly releases
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 678
- Against the person
- 174
- Against property
- 316
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 130.6
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 30 residents
- State safety percentile
- 94th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate, partial year)
- +1.2%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Assault1152
- Drug Offences1431
- Good Order Offences1187
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)2349
- Unlawful Entry891
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 4
- Median school ICSEA (4 schools)
- 930.5
- Cairns School of Distance EducationCombined
- Cairns West State SchoolPrimary
- St Francis Xavier's SchoolPrimary
- Trinity Bay State High SchoolSecondary
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Amenities
47 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- BWSAlcohol
- Bench (4)
- carBicycle Parking
- Anderson Street at Chaplain StreetBus stop
- Anderson Street near English StreetBus stop
- Anderson Street near Hill StreetBus stop
- Anderson Street near Mayers StreetBus stop
- English St at Hoare StreetBus stop
- Hoare St at Kiernan StreetBus stop
- Hoare Street at Eureka Street (Trinity Bay SHS)Bus stop
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
10 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Clarke and Wallace ParkPark
- Cominos Place ParkPark
- Endeavour ParkPark
- Fire Station ParkPark
- Guginy ReservePark
- Harald Falge ParkPark
- Pumeri ParkPark
- Sidney ParkPark
- Teatree ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 1/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 1/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Childcare
1 childcare service from OpenStreetMap
- Cairns Kids Early Learning Centrechildcare
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Period: current · Updated on site
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 15
- Parks (OSM)
- 13
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 48.1/100 — Average
- State standing
- Top 33% of Queensland's suburbs
- National rank
- 2178th in Australia
- State rank
- 495th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #126 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #178 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 73%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Anderson Street at Chaplain Streetamenitiesbus_stop
- Anderson Street near English Streetamenitiesbus_stop
- Anderson Street near Hill Streetamenitiesbus_stop
- Anderson Street near Mayers Streetamenitiesbus_stop
- Apex Milk Baramenitiesrestaurant
- BWSamenitiesalcohol
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Cairns Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.