Cooktown, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Cooktown sits at the mouth of the Endeavour River in Far North Queensland, about 330 kilometres north of Cairns. It is the country of the Guugu Yimithirr people, who knew the area as Gangaar. Here in 1770 James Cook beached the damaged Endeavour for repairs, and his crew recorded the word for the animal the locals called gangurru — the origin of the English 'kangaroo'. Both the town and Mount Cook behind it carry the navigator's name. The town itself was founded in 1873 as the supply port for the Palmer River goldfields, booming before the gold ran down. Today it is a quiet historic town and a gateway to Cape York, with the James Cook Museum, an 1878 botanic garden and wide views from Grassy Hill.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Cooktown is more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 916, 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.
Cooktown at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,746
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,215
- SEIFA score
- 916
- Coordinates
- -15.3870, 145.0012
Cooktown demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Cooktown 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 mid-life (45–64) at 30%, 36% of homes are rented, and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 531 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 260 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 592 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 815 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 553 | 20% |
Share of the 2,751 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 336 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 209 | 21% |
| Rented | 352 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 842 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 82 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 7 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 990 occupied private dwellings in Cooktown.
- Median weekly rent
- $230
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,586
- Median weekly personal income
- $678
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 347 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 249 (11%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 474 (17%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 827 (38%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.4%
- Employed full-time
- 650
- Employed part-time
- 300
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 Cooktown
Where is Cooktown?
Cooktown is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Cooktown?
At the 2021 Census, Cooktown had a population of about 2,746.
Is Cooktown an advantaged area?
Cooktown has an ABS SEIFA score of 916, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 16 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 16% of Australian suburbs.
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