Cairns vs Mareeba

Cairns and Mareeba are nearby Queensland areas with very different layouts. Cairns is somewhat walkable, with 65% of homes in a 15-minute-city walkshed and 84.3% within a 10-minute walk of public transport. In contrast, Mareeba is mostly car-dependent, where no homes are within a 10-minute walk of public transport. There are also notable differences for First Nations people; in Cairns, 21.5% speak a First Nations language and 49.3% of those in the group finished Year 12, while in Mareeba, only 6.2% speak a First Nations language and 32.3% finished Year 12.

Both areas share similar results for First Nations personal income, which sits near the national figure. This is seen in Cairns, where the typical income is $579, and in Mareeba, where it is $462. Other gaps are wide, such as the First Nations unemployment rate, which is well higher in Mareeba at 25.7% compared to 16.4% in Cairns.