Cairns North · Suburb / Locality

Walkability in Cairns North

How much of daily life sits within a walk of home — a transparent 0–10 walkability score and the everyday destinations you can reach on foot: shops, public transport, schools, parks and health services, plus the streets and terrain in between.

Almost every essential service is just a short stroll away in Cairns North, though cultural spots are the hardest to reach. The area is described as a walker's paradise with a score of 8.5, which is far above the Queensland figure of 5.0. This accessibility is reflected in the 99.9% of homes that have a full range of amenities within a 15-minute walk.

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📍 Cairns North, Suburb / Locality

Where Cairns North sits — Walkability score

8.5 A walker's paradise
  • 0.0–0.4: 7643 areas
  • 0.4–0.7: 936 areas
  • 0.7–1.1: 607 areas
  • 1.1–1.4: 409 areas
  • 1.4–1.8: 339 areas
  • 1.8–2.1: 286 areas
  • 2.1–2.5: 268 areas
  • 2.5–2.9: 253 areas
  • 2.9–3.2: 267 areas
  • 3.2–3.6: 273 areas
  • 3.6–3.9: 281 areas
  • 3.9–4.3: 291 areas
  • 4.3–4.6: 311 areas
  • 4.6–5.0: 280 areas
  • 5.0–5.4: 308 areas
  • 5.4–5.7: 296 areas
  • 5.7–6.1: 271 areas
  • 6.1–6.4: 257 areas
  • 6.4–6.8: 245 areas
  • 6.8–7.1: 204 areas
  • 7.1–7.5: 211 areas
  • 7.5–7.9: 167 areas
  • 7.9–8.2: 188 areas
  • 8.2–8.6: 145 areas
  • 8.6–8.9: 126 areas
  • 8.9–9.3: 95 areas
  • 9.3–9.6: 62 areas
  • 9.6–10.0: 23 areas

All suburb / locality areas, 2021. The marker is Cairns North — a walker's paradise of areas.

Walkability score compared with the state and national average
Cairns North8.5
4870, QLD 6.3
Queensland 5.0

Walking times to everyday amenities

Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Cairns North by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →

The score

The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.

A walkability score of 8.5 makes this a walker's paradise, far above the state's figure of 5.0. Residents have access to 7.9 different types of amenities within a 15-minute walk, which is far above the Queensland average of 4.8.

8.5

A walker's paradise of suburb / locality areas.

A 0–10 score for how much of daily life sits within an easy walk of the average home — weighing how close groceries, public transport, cafés, parks, health services, schools, culture and everyday services are, and how many of each. Walking times are measured on an elevation-aware pedestrian network, so hills count against reach. The methodology page describes how the score is put together.

7.9

Higher than 99% of suburb / locality areas.

How many of the eight everyday amenity types — groceries, food & drink, health, schools, parks, culture, everyday services and public transport — the average home can reach on foot within 15 minutes, out of 8.

99.9%

Higher than 99% of suburb / locality areas.

Share of local homes that can reach at least five of the eight everyday amenity types within a 15-minute walk — the "15-minute city" test. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.

What's in walking distance

How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.

Nearly every home is within 15 minutes of schools, groceries, and health services. While 90% of residents can reach a park within 5 minutes, only 12% are that close to cultural attractions.

Streets & terrain

Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.

The terrain is relatively flat with a mean slope of 3.4%, a little below the Queensland figure of 6.0%. There are 299 intersections per square kilometre and 19.7 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents, which is well above the state average.

19.7

Higher than 61% of suburb / locality areas.

Walkable amenities — shops, cafés, parks, health services, schools, cultural and community places, everyday services and public-transport stops — per 1,000 residents. Measures how much is around, apart from how far it is to walk there.

3.4%

Lower than 81% of suburb / locality areas.

Average terrain slope across the area, as a percent grade. Steeper ground shortens how far people will walk; it is already folded into the walkability score through the elevation-aware pedestrian network, and is shown here on its own for context.

Sources

  • Walkability (OpenStreetMap, GTFS, ACARA & G-NAF, via Valhalla) — OpenStreetMap contributors, state transport agencies, ACARA & Geoscape Australia, 2026 (ODbL 1.0 + CC BY).

More for Cairns North

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in Cairns North [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL30479/cairns-north/topic/walkability