Property Report / Areas / Cairns Regional / Yorkeys Knob

Yorkeys Knob flood map & planning overlays

A planning-constraint profile of Yorkeys Knob (Cairns Regional, QLD) - 13.88 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 12 September 2026.

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

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Yorkeys Knob's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

How common is mapped flood risk across Yorkeys Knob properties?

Overlay percentages say how much land is constrained; these figures say how many properties are actually touched in a suburb-wide analysis of 1,935 Yorkeys Knob properties. No individual property result is identified on this page.

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Yorkeys Knob

Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed aircraft traffic is a separate question from the contour.

Inside an aircraft noise contour

32%

32% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.

Highest contour present

ANEF 25

Under AS 2021, land between ANEF 25 and 30 is generally unacceptable for new houses; 20 to 25 is conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.

Contours held

  • Cairns Regional Council ANEF

Yorkeys Knob at a glance

Parcels 1,942 Median lot 648 m² Mapped easements 101 Bus stops 12 Schools in suburb 1 Landslide overlay 1%

Schools in and near Yorkeys Knob

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

1

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

Nearest school availability

Primary: inside the suburb

Secondary: 1.53 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 Yorkeys Knob is zoned

Rural 60%
Conservation 23%
Sport and Recreation 5%
Low Density Residential 5%
Special Purpose 2%
Medium Density Residential 2%

Selling in Yorkeys Knob? 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 13.88 km², Yorkeys Knob is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 87% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 15% is flagged bushfire-prone. There is 1 heritage-listed site on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 648 m² across 1,942 parcels.

Who lives in Yorkeys Knob

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

Population
2,794
usual residents, 2021
Median age
46
years
Median household income
$1,234
per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $1,618
Median rent
$310
per week, Cairns Regional suburb typical $315
Median mortgage
$1,357
per month
Household size
2.0
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 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 933, and decile 4 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 2
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Yorkeys Knob's 2,794 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 3.9%
5-14 9.7%
15-19 4.1%
20-24 4.6%
25-34 12.6%
35-44 12.5%
45-54 15.7%
55-64 15.5%
65-74 14.0%
75-84 5.9%
85+ 1.4%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

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

5,961 in 2001 to 6,319 in 2025, up 6%.

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.

Yorkeys Knob 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)Inside a held contourthe 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 12 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 Yorkeys Knob 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 Yorkeys Knob. 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 Yorkeys Knob lot.

See what's in the $9 report →

Yorkeys Knob planning - frequently asked

Is Yorkeys Knob flood-prone?

About 87% of Yorkeys Knob falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 55%. Across the suburb, 36% of the 1,935 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 691 rated high risk or historically affected.

Is Yorkeys Knob bushfire-prone?

Around 15% of Yorkeys Knob is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Cairns Regional average of 23%.

Is Yorkeys Knob affected by aircraft noise?

About 32% of Yorkeys Knob sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 25 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.

What is the zoning in Yorkeys Knob?

The dominant planning zone in Yorkeys Knob is Rural, though the suburb also includes Conservation and Sport and Recreation.

Does Yorkeys Knob have heritage-listed places?

Yorkeys Knob has 1 heritage-listed place on record.

Is Yorkeys Knob hilly or flat?

Yorkeys Knob is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%, and 7% of measured points sit on grades of 15% or steeper. Ground level runs from roughly 2 m to 41 m AHD across the suburb.

What is the typical lot size in Yorkeys Knob?

Across 1,942 surveyed parcels in Yorkeys Knob, the median lot size is about 648 m². There are also 101 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Yorkeys Knob have a train station?

There is no train station inside Yorkeys Knob itself. The suburb is served by 12 bus stops.

What is the population of Yorkeys Knob?

At the 2021 Census Yorkeys Knob had 2,794 usual residents, with a median age of 46 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Yorkeys Knob - Machans Beach statistical area, which contains Yorkeys Knob, went from 5,961 people in 2001 to 6,319 in 2025, up 6%.

Is Yorkeys Knob an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Yorkeys Knob scores 933 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Yorkeys Knob?

Median household income in Yorkeys Knob was $1,234 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,618 for the typical suburb in Cairns Regional. Median rent was $310 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,357 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Trinity Park 2.5 km 83% 22%
Holloways Beach 2.5 km 81% 15%
Smithfield 2.8 km 48% 43%
Trinity Beach 4.1 km 22% 40%
Barron 4.7 km 100% 6%
Machans Beach 4.8 km 68% 20%
Caravonica 5.6 km 40% 19%
Kewarra Beach 6.1 km 23% 30%
Stratford 6.2 km 42% 69%
Kamerunga 6.7 km 73% 39%

See all Cairns Regional suburb profiles →