The quick read on
QLD 4849 · Cassowary Coast
What homes cost, how rents have moved, and a feel for the people who call it home.
latest suburb median
latest suburb median
ABS 2021
Cardwell, Queensland
Median sale price and rental income of properties in Cardwell QLD
Based on 37 sales in the preceding 12 months
$478,000
Up 29.4% over 12 months
Based on 12 rental listings in the preceding 12 months
$475 per week
Down 20.8% over 12 months
Market data updated September 2026.
The median house price in Cardwell, QLD is currently $478,000, based on the latest 12 months of sales. Cardwell has a 12-month growth rate of 29.4% for houses and 41.8% for units.
Two-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $370,000, Three-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $460,000, Four-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $667,000 in Cardwell.
If you're looking to lease, the median rent for houses in Cardwell is $475 per week. The median house rent has decreased 20.8% over the last 12 months.
The median price of apartments and units for sale in Cardwell is $339,000, which has increased 41.8% since the same time last year. One-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $302,000, Two-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $340,000, Three-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $339,000, Four-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $724,000 in Cardwell. The median rent for units and apartments in Cardwell is $375 per week and has increased 15.4% over the last 12 months.
Crime and safety
The overall rate for Cardwell is 3,931 offences per 100,000 residents — 60% above the Rest of Qld benchmark.
That is the clearest suburb-wide answer. Open the detailed profile to see how the pattern changes across offence types and different parts of Cardwell.
Overall crime rate
3,931
offences per 100,000 residents
60% aboveRest of Qld
Suburb-wide estimate from Microburbs' public crime model; it is not an address-level measure.
The people behind the postcode
Cardwell QLD 4849 is in Queensland, within Rest of Qld.
1,320 people call Cardwell home, with an average of 1.9 people per household and a median household income of $846 a week.
Public ABS 2021 Census figures. The bars compare the local share with the capital-region benchmark.
Share of residents in each age band.
Share of occupied private dwellings.
Share of homes with a stated ownership or rental status.
Vehicles available to occupied households.
Selected ways residents worked or travelled on Census day.
11.2% of workers in Cardwell worked from home on Census day.
4.6% of Cardwell residents were born in England.
34.6% of people in Cardwell described themselves as having no religion in the 2021 Census.
A closer look at the Census
Open any question for a plain-English reading of the public 2021 Census for Cardwell QLD 4849.
10.1% of Cardwell's residents were children under 15 in the 2021 Census. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
331 family households lived in Cardwell; 20.5% were couple families and 16.3% were one-parent families.
21.8% of local families included children under 15. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
These are suburb-wide household figures, not school or childcare ratings.
Cardwell had 1,320 residents at the 2021 Census.
13.4% of residents were aged 25 to 44.
60.3% were 55 or older. That is about twice the Rest of Qld rate.
Age shares use the suburb’s total Census population.
Separate houses made up 70.0% of occupied private dwellings in Cardwell.
Townhouses and other attached homes represented 14.0% of occupied private dwellings.
Flats and apartments accounted for 9.7% of occupied private dwellings.
All three shares use occupied private dwellings as the denominator.
45.1% of households with a stated tenure owned their home outright. That is well above the Rest of Qld average.
14.5% were buying their home with a mortgage.
40.4% rented their home. That is well above the Rest of Qld average.
Tenure shares include households that stated one of these three arrangements.
The average household in Cardwell had 1.9 people.
One-person households made up 40.0% of occupied homes. That is well above the Rest of Qld average.
Two-person households represented 43.6%, while 7.2% had four or more usual residents.
Household size counts usual residents in occupied homes.
11.2% of workers worked from home on Census day. That is close to the Rest of Qld average.
55.6% drove a car as their only travel method. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
0.0% used only a train, tram or bus, while 11.7% walked or cycled.
Travel figures are a 2021 Census-day snapshot.
6.3% of occupied households had no motor vehicle available. That is close to the Rest of Qld average.
One-car households formed 46.9% of the total.
46.3% of households had two or more vehicles.
Vehicle counts refer to occupied households, not individual residents.
55.3% were at the same address five years earlier, while 44.7% reported a different address.
16.1% of residents were born outside Australia. That is close to the Rest of Qld average.
Mobility figures cover residents who answered the relevant Census question.
85.2% of residents used only English at home.
5.1% used a language other than English at home.
0.0% spoke Mandarin at home, 0.0% spoke Cantonese and 0.0% spoke Hindi.
Home language is separate from English proficiency.
16.1% of Cardwell's population was born outside Australia, while roughly 83.9% was born in Australia.
0.0% of residents were born in China.
1.2% were born in India, while Australian citizenship across the whole suburb stood at 85.8%.
Birthplace, citizenship and ancestry describe different parts of identity.
English ancestry accounted for 40.5% of ancestry responses in Cardwell.
Australian ancestry made up 33.6% of responses.
Chinese ancestry represented 0.8% of responses.
People may nominate more than one ancestry, so these are shares of responses.
10.7% of employed residents worked in professional occupations. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
Managers accounted for 9.3% of employed residents, while clerical and administrative workers made up 9.8%.
Health care and social assistance employed 16.6% of workers, and education and training employed 5.6%.
Occupation and industry figures describe employed residents of the suburb.
The labour-force participation rate was 37.6%, compared with 59.1% across Rest of Qld.
17.5% of residents aged 15 and over worked full time, while 13.6% worked part time.
Unemployment was 8.1%, compared with 5.2% across Rest of Qld.
Labour-force figures come from the 2021 Census.
42.0% reported no selected long-term health condition.
11.4% reported a long-term mental health condition, including depression or anxiety.
6.7% reported asthma, 16.8% arthritis and 8.0% diabetes excluding gestational diabetes.
These are self-reported suburb-wide Census figures, not address-level health risks.
12.5% of people in the qualifications table held a bachelor degree. That is well below the Rest of Qld average.
Postgraduate degrees accounted for 1.4% of qualification responses.
Diploma-level qualifications represented 16.0%, while certificate-level qualifications represented 42.2%.
Qualification categories are reported separately and are not school ratings.
Median household income was $846 per week in the 2021 Census.
The median monthly mortgage repayment reported by local households was $1,278.
Occupied renting households reported a median rent of $250 per week.
These household figures are from 2021; current sale and asking-rent medians appear in the market section.
Working from home was 11.2% in Cardwell, compared with 10.6% across Rest of Qld.
Outright ownership was 45.1% locally and 33.4% across Rest of Qld. That is well above the Rest of Qld average.
Renting accounted for 40.4% in Cardwell, against 32.4% across Rest of Qld.
Capital-region comparisons use the same Census definitions and year.
Three useful questions
The median house price is $478,000, while units and apartments sit at $339,000. Bedroom count, land and condition still create a wide range around those suburb medians.
The Census counted 331 local families, and 10.1% of residents were under 15. That describes the community; school quality, travel times and the right fit for a particular family need separate research.
4-bedroom houses have a median around $667,000, the closest bedroom benchmark we hold to a $1.5m budget. Individual homes can differ substantially with block size, renovation and location.
Medians describe recorded market activity across the suburb; they are historical context, not a valuation or forecast for an individual home.
Explore the area
Open a free street report for local prices, rents and recorded sale history.
Compare nearby suburb prices, rents and five-year market trends.
Keep exploring
Use the finders to compare places and properties, or open the full report when you need the street, risk, schools and growth research.
Figures update as new market and census data arrives. This suburb overview is general information, not a valuation or financial advice.
Aerial view