Property Report / Areas / Cairns Regional / Palm Cove

Palm Cove flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Palm Cove (Cairns Regional, QLD) - 6.82 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 10 September 2026.

Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Palm Cove's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Palm Cove properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 2,901 Palm Cove properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Palm Cove at a glance

Parcels 2,704 Median lot 821 m² Mapped easements 295 Bus stops 12 Schools in suburb 0 Landslide overlay 13%

Schools in and near Palm Cove

Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb. These figures do not rate schools and do not assign a particular address to a catchment.

Inside the suburb boundary

0

0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.

Nearest school availability

Primary: 2.92 km from the suburb boundary

Secondary: 6.28 km from the suburb boundary

Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.

How Palm Cove is zoned

Conservation 20%
Tourist Accommodation 20%
Low Density Residential 19%
Low-medium Density Residential 18%
Open Space 12%
Environmental Management 5%

Selling in Palm Cove? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.

Across its 6.82 km², Palm Cove is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 13% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 31% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Conservation. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 821 m² across 2,704 parcels.

Who lives in Palm Cove

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Palm Cove suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
2,450
usual residents, 2021
Median age
53
years
Median household income
$1,527
per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $1,618
Median rent
$365
per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $315
Median mortgage
$1,733
per month
Household size
2.1
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 7
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 1014, and decile 8 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 6
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Palm Cove's 2,450 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 2.5%
5-14 8.5%
15-19 3.7%
20-24 2.9%
25-34 7.2%
35-44 10.8%
45-54 16.6%
55-64 20.1%
65-74 19.2%
75-84 7.5%
85+ 0.9%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Clifton Beach - Kewarra Beach, the wider ABS statistical area containing Palm Cove. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Palm Cove itself.

6,519 in 2001 to 12,760 in 2025, up 96%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

Palm Cove data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
ZoningMappedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldthe relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)
School availabilityAvailableQueensland Government

Profile last materially updated 10 September 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific Palm Cove address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

Published flood models are held over parts of Palm Cove. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.

The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot (+$9 with the planning report).

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Palm Cove lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Palm Cove planning - frequently asked

Is Palm Cove flood-prone?

About 13% of Palm Cove falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 55%. Across the suburb, 40% of the 2,901 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 1146 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Palm Cove bushfire-prone?

Around 31% of Palm Cove is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cairns Regional average of 23%.

What is the zoning in Palm Cove?

The dominant planning zone in Palm Cove is Conservation, though the suburb also includes Tourist Accommodation and Low Density Residential.

Does Palm Cove have heritage-listed places?

No heritage-listed places are on record within Palm Cove.

Is Palm Cove hilly or flat?

Palm Cove is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 3%, and 7% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 3 m to 53 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Palm Cove?

Across 2,704 surveyed parcels in Palm Cove, the median lot size is about 821 m². There are also 295 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Palm Cove have a train station?

There is no train station inside Palm Cove itself. The suburb is served by 12 bus stops.

What is the population of Palm Cove?

At the 2021 Census Palm Cove had 2,450 usual residents, with a median age of 53 and an average household size of 2.1 people. The wider Clifton Beach - Kewarra Beach statistical area, which contains Palm Cove, went from 6,519 people in 2001 to 12,760 in 2025, up 96%.

Is Palm Cove an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Palm Cove scores 1014 and sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Palm Cove?

Median household income in Palm Cove was $1,527 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,618 for the typical suburb in Cairns Regional. Median rent was $365 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Ellis Beach 2.2 km 7% 8%
Clifton Beach 3.0 km 15% 47%
Macalister Range 3.6 km 5% 47%
Kewarra Beach 4.6 km 23% 30%
Trinity Beach 6.1 km 22% 40%
Trinity Park 7.7 km 83% 22%
Smithfield 9.0 km 48% 43%
Yorkeys Knob 10.1 km 87% 15%
Holloways Beach 12.6 km 81% 15%
Caravonica 12.8 km 40% 19%

See all Cairns Regional suburb profiles →