Cairns vs Innisfail - Johnstone

Cairns and Innisfail - Johnstone are two distinct Queensland regions with very different layouts. Cairns is a far more walkable place, where 66.8% of homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries and 84.3% are near public transport, compared to just 22.3% and 0% in Innisfail - Johnstone. This contrast is reflected in their walkability scores, with Cairns being somewhat walkable (5.6) and Innisfail - Johnstone mostly car-dependent (2.0). First Nations presence is also much stronger in Cairns, where 21.5% of people speak a First Nations language, far higher than the 6.9% in Innisfail - Johnstone.

While these two areas differ in infrastructure, they share a very similar landscape with nearly identical mean terrain slopes. Gaps in some areas are shifting, such as the difference in First Nations Year 12 completion, which is now well higher in Cairns by 8.4 percentage points. This educational gap sits alongside other differences, with First Nations personal income also being a little higher in Cairns.