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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Cairns vs Darwin in 2026: cost index 95 vs 112, rent $1,600 vs $2,100, income $62,000 vs $76,000, QoL 64 vs 56.
Cairns vs Darwin in 2026: cost index 95 vs 112, rent $1,600 vs $2,100, income $62,000 vs $76,000, QoL 64 vs 56.
Cairns ranks #1 with a cost index of 95 and rent of $1,600/month.
Average cost index across these cities: 104 (-3 vs national average of 107).
Average quality of life: 60/100. Top: Cairns at 64/100.
Safest city: Cairns (58/100 safety score).
Here's the surprising part: Cairns stands out as the top-ranked city in this analysis. With a cost index of 95 and median income of $62,000, it offers below-average costs relative to the rest of Australia. Financially, that's significant.
On quality of life, Cairns leads with a composite score of 64/100 — reflecting its safety (58), healthcare (62), and walkability (55) metrics. And here's the trade-off: affordability and QoL don't always move in the same direction, and Australia is a good example of that tension.
The country average QoL score is 64/100. Cairns leads with 64/100, reflecting its safety, healthcare access, walkability, and green space.
Our index is benchmarked to 100 (national median). Sub-categories cover housing, food, transport, utilities, and healthcare. Data sources include ABS, CoreLogic, ATO.
Cairns (ranked #1) has a cost index of 95 and rent of $1,600/mo. Darwin (#2) has index 112 and rent $2,100/mo — a 17-point gap.