Innisfail, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Innisfail lies on the Cassowary Coast of Far North Queensland, where the Johnstone and South Johnstone Rivers meet about 88 kilometres south of Cairns. The district was long home to the Mamu people. Founded in 1879 by Thomas Fitzgerald, who started its sugar industry, the town was first called Geraldton but was renamed Innisfail in 1910 to avoid confusion with the Western Australian port; the Irish-derived name means island of destiny. After a cyclone in 1918, Innisfail was rebuilt in the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles for which it is admired. One of the wettest towns in Australia, it sits amid sugar-cane and banana country near tropical rainforest and Queensland's highest peak, Mount Bartle Frere. Sugar and bananas remain its mainstays.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Innisfail is more socio-economically advantaged than about 2% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 811, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Innisfail at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,091
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $894
- SEIFA score
- 811
- Coordinates
- -17.5210, 146.0258
Innisfail demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Innisfail using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 25%, 61% of homes are rented, and 30% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 171 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 132 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 280 | 25% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 259 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 257 | 23% |
Share of the 1,099 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 86 | 20% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 41 | 10% |
| Rented | 255 | 61% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 217 | 53% |
| Townhouses & semis | 73 | 18% |
| Flats & apartments | 99 | 24% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 411 occupied private dwellings in Innisfail.
- Median weekly rent
- $230
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,083
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,263
- Median weekly personal income
- $572
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 292 (30%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 290 (29%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 256 (23%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 363 (41%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 11.6%
- Employed full-time
- 219
- Employed part-time
- 159
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Innisfail
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Innisfail is February (average daytime high around 30.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 23.4°C). The area receives roughly 2300 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.1°C | 23.4°C | 377 mm |
| Feb | 30.4°C | 23.3°C | 342 mm |
| Mar | 29.4°C | 22.8°C | 368 mm |
| Apr | 27.7°C | 21.5°C | 283 mm |
| May | 25.5°C | 19.4°C | 163 mm |
| Jun | 23.9°C | 17.8°C | 129 mm |
| Jul | 23.4°C | 16.6°C | 102 mm |
| Aug | 24.4°C | 16.3°C | 70 mm |
| Sep | 26.2°C | 17.8°C | 65 mm |
| Oct | 28.3°C | 19.5°C | 71 mm |
| Nov | 29.8°C | 21.3°C | 72 mm |
| Dec | 30.3°C | 22.7°C | 258 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Innisfail
Where is Innisfail?
Innisfail is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Innisfail?
At the 2021 Census, Innisfail had a population of about 1,091.
Is Innisfail an advantaged area?
Innisfail has an ABS SEIFA score of 811, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 2 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 2% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Innisfail?
Innisfail has average daytime highs of about 27.5°C and overnight lows of about 20.2°C, with roughly 2,300 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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