Port Douglas, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Port Douglas is a coastal resort town in Far North Queensland, about 60 km north of Cairns in the Shire of Douglas. It is best known as a gateway to two World Heritage areas — the Great Barrier Reef, reached on daily dive and snorkel trips, and the Daintree Rainforest to the north — and for the long sweep of Four Mile Beach. Once a small port, it is now built around tourism, with resorts, restaurants and a marina. The town is named after John Douglas, a former Premier of Queensland; its recorded Indigenous name is Jabulkanji, in the Kuku Yalanji language.
Around the national middle
Port Douglas is more socio-economically advantaged than about 40% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 970, 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.
Port Douglas at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,650
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,370
- SEIFA score
- 970
- Coordinates
- -16.5023, 145.4593
Port Douglas demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Port Douglas 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 34%, 43% of homes are rented, and 38% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 312 | 9% |
| Youth (15–24) | 281 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,237 | 34% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,061 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 751 | 21% |
Share of the 3,642 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 380 | 28% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 355 | 26% |
| Rented | 572 | 43% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 477 | 36% |
| Townhouses & semis | 440 | 33% |
| Flats & apartments | 359 | 27% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,342 occupied private dwellings in Port Douglas.
- Median weekly rent
- $350
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,474
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,784
- Median weekly personal income
- $824
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,164 (38%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 530 (17%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 84 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,844 (56%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.8%
- Employed full-time
- 911
- Employed part-time
- 865
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.
Common questions about Port Douglas
Where is Port Douglas?
Port Douglas is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Port Douglas?
At the 2021 Census, Port Douglas had a population of about 3,650.
Is Port Douglas an advantaged area?
Port Douglas has an ABS SEIFA score of 970, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 40 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 40% of Australian suburbs.
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