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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Cairns Bay is a regional centre in Tasmania, Australia, with a population of approximately 47, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 45 km from the Hobart CBD, Cairns Bay is a regional area in Tasmania. The median household income is $46,800 per year.
Lower income levels in Cairns Bay typically translate to more affordable entry points for investors. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Cairns Bay. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Cairns Bay on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Cairns Bay is a smaller community of 47 — about 1% of the Tasmania suburb median (3,902) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Cairns Bay's median household income of $46,800/year is 37% below the Tasmania suburb median ($73,944) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median weekly rent of $255 equates to $1,105/month — about 94% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,172/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. At 45 km from Hobart, Cairns Bay is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price. Only 59% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 80% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.
How Cairns Bay stacks up against the median of all Tasmania suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Cairns Bay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Cairns Bay | TAS median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 47 | 3,902 | -99% |
| Median household income | $46,800/yr | $73,944/yr | -37% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $255 | $320 | -20% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,172 | $1,378 | -15% |
| Distance to CBD | 45 km | 24 km | +88% |
| Separate houses | 59% | 80% | -21pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Cairns Bay — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 47 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Tasmania market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $255/week (~$1,105/month) covers 94% of the $1,172/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $67/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 59% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 80% TAS median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Cairns Bay property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Cairns Bay are modest for 2026 — incomes 37% below the TAS median of $73,944 and a population of 47 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~94% of the typical mortgage ($1,105/month rent vs $1,172/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 30/100 places Cairns Bay in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Cairns Bay scores 30/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 47, median household income of $46,800/year and median weekly rent of $255. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Cairns Bay are a median household income of $46,800/year, a dwelling mix that is 59% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Cairns Bay has a usual resident population of approximately 47, compared with a Tasmania suburb median of 3,902 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Cairns Bay sits 45 km straight-line from the Hobart CBD. This is an outer-metro location; local employment and infrastructure announcements tend to move prices more than CBD connectivity alone.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $255 in Cairns Bay, equating to approximately $13,260/year in gross rental income (state median $320/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Cairns Bay is $1,172, or approximately $14,064/year (vs $1,378/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $255 works out to $1,105/month, covering 94% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,172/month. That leaves a $67/month shortfall (around $804/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (47 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,172 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($46,800 vs $73,944 state median), the broader Tasmania market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.