Housing
Car Ownership
About this topic
Number of cars per household shows how many registered motor vehicles are available to people living in a household. It is a measure of access to private transport rather than total travel activity.
This topic is useful for understanding mobility, transport choice, and access to jobs and services. It should be read with public transport availability, household type, income, and travel to work, because high or low car ownership can reflect very different local conditions.
Interpretation notes
- This measures registered motor vehicles owned or used by residents that were garaged or parked at or near the dwelling on Census night.
- Vehicle counts are a household access measure, not a direct measure of how often people drive or commute.
Related topics
Key insight
In 2021, 1 motor vehicle was the most common car-ownership level among households in Cairns City, accounting for 49% (515 households). This share was higher than Cairns (R) (35.3%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 1 motor vehicle, which increased by 109 households and 8.2 percentage points.
Section overview
Car ownership
Cairns City - Households (Enumerated)
This table summarises car ownership for Cairns City in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.
Car ownership snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cairns City, with comparison markers for Cairns (R).
No motor vehicles
1 motor vehicle
2 motor vehicles
3 or more motor vehicles
Not stated
Chart view
Car ownership change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
No motor vehicles
+45
+3.6pp
1 motor vehicle
+109
+8.2pp
2 motor vehicles
+10
0.0pp
3 or more motor vehicles
+10
+0.7pp
Not stated
-132
-13.9pp
Data table
Car Ownership for Cairns City. Car ownership. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | pp | |
| No motor vehicles | 172 | 16.4% | 6.1% | 127 | 12.8% | 6.5% | +45 | +3.6pp |
| 1 motor vehicle | 515 | 49.0% | 35.3% | 406 | 40.8% | 34.1% | +109 | +8.2pp |
| 2 motor vehicles | 180 | 17.1% | 34.8% | 170 | 17.1% | 33.7% | +10 | 0.0pp |
| 3 or more motor vehicles | 57 | 5.4% | 16.0% | 47 | 4.7% | 13.9% | +10 | +0.7pp |
| Not stated | 125 | 11.9% | 7.8% | 257 | 25.8% | 11.7% | -132 | -13.9pp |
| Total households | 1,051 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 995 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +56 | 0.0pp |