Kuranda, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kuranda is a rainforest village on the Atherton Tableland, about 27 kilometres north-west of Cairns and some 330 metres above the coast. The surrounding rainforest has been home to the Djabugay people for thousands of years, and the town's name is said to come from a Yidinji word. A tourist destination since the early 1900s, Kuranda reinvented itself from the 1970s as the village in the rainforest, drawing artists and travellers to its markets and galleries along Coondoo Street. It is best known for the two scenic routes that climb to it from the coast: the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway, which winds through the Barron Gorge, and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which glides for some seven kilometres above the forest canopy.
Less advantaged than the national average
Kuranda is more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 939, 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.
Is Kuranda a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Kuranda from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
24/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (24/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
57/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $260 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 57% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Kuranda at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,273
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,284
- SEIFA score
- 939
- Local government area
- Mareeba
- Coordinates
- -16.8314, 145.6094
Map of Kuranda
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Kuranda
What it costs to live in Kuranda and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $260
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,595
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 71%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 25%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Kuranda demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Kuranda demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kuranda 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 mid-life (45–64) at 32% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 603 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 282 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 684 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,038 | 32% |
| Seniors (65+) | 661 | 20% |
Share of the 3,268 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 443 | 38% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 380 | 33% |
| Rented | 293 | 25% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,016 | 88% |
| Townhouses & semis | 28 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 43 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,153 occupied private dwellings in Kuranda.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,617
- Median weekly personal income
- $600
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 658 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 259 (9%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 541 (17%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,298 (51%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 8.2%
- Employed full-time
- 612
- Employed part-time
- 529
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.
Share your local knowledge of Kuranda
Lived here or spent time in Kuranda? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Kuranda
Is Kuranda a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Kuranda rates 35/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Kuranda?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Kuranda was $260, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,595. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Kuranda?
Kuranda is a suburb of Queensland, Australia, in the Mareeba local government area.
What is the population of Kuranda?
At the 2021 Census, Kuranda had a population of about 3,273.
Is Kuranda an advantaged area?
Kuranda has an ABS SEIFA score of 939, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 24 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.