Individual Income is an indicator of socio-economic status, skills and occupations required in a particular industry. With other data sources, such as Qualifications and Occupation, it helps to evaluate the economic opportunities of people in an industry.
The amount of income an individual receives is linked to a number of factors including the person's employment status, age, qualifications and type of employment undertaken by the person.
Wages in Cairns can vary greatly across industry sectors. As well as being related to the type of jobs and qualifications required in a particular industry, income levels can be related to the level of part-time employment, Occupations, Qualification and the Age structure of the local workers, so the data should be looked at in conjunction with these topics.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2021 – by place of work
Select industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers individual income | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns - All industries | 2021 | ||||||||
| Gross weekly individual income | Number | % | Queensland% | ||||||
| Negative Income/ Nil income | 449 | 0.6 | 0.7 | ||||||
| $1 - $149 | 2,374 | 3.2 | 2.9 | ||||||
| $150 - $299 | 1,919 | 2.6 | 2.8 | ||||||
| $300 - $399 | 2,065 | 2.8 | 3.0 | ||||||
| $400 - $499 | 2,835 | 3.8 | 3.8 | ||||||
| $500 - $649 | 5,284 | 7.1 | 6.7 | ||||||
| $650 - $799 | 7,325 | 9.8 | 9.0 | ||||||
| $800 - $999 | 10,044 | 13.5 | 12.3 | ||||||
| $1,000 - $1,249 | 11,037 | 14.8 | 13.8 | ||||||
| $1,250 - $1,499 | 8,091 | 10.9 | 10.5 | ||||||
| $1,500 - $1,749 | 7,000 | 9.4 | 9.2 | ||||||
| $1,750 - $1,999 | 5,128 | 6.9 | 6.8 | ||||||
| $2,000 - $2,999 | 7,215 | 9.7 | 11.3 | ||||||
| $3,000 - $3,499 | 1,146 | 1.5 | 2.4 | ||||||
| $3,500 or more | 1,748 | 2.3 | 3.9 | ||||||
| Not stated | 747 | 1.0 | 1.0 | ||||||
| Total Persons | 74,407 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||||||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions) Please refer to specific data notes for more information | |||||||||
Dominant groups
Analysis of the individual income levels in Cairns in 2021 compared to Queensland shows that there was a lower proportion earning a high income (those earning $1,750 per week or more) and a similar proportion of low income persons (those earning less than $500 per week).
Overall, 19.1% of the local workers earned a high income, and 13.0% earned a low income, compared with 21.6% and 13.2% respectively for Queensland.
The major differences between the weekly income of the local workers in Cairns and Queensland were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers who earned $2,000 - $2,999 (9.7% compared to 11.3%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers who earned $3,500 or more (2.3% compared to 3.9%)
- A larger percentage of local workers who earned $800 - $999 (13.5% compared to 12.3%)
- A larger percentage of local workers who earned $1,000 - $1,249 (14.8% compared to 13.8%)