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List of cities in Australia by population facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Australia has many cities and towns, and we can rank them by how many people live in them! This article shows different ways to count people in Australian cities, using information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

We'll look at a few types of areas:

  • Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs): These are the big areas around Australia's main capital cities.
  • Significant Urban Areas (SUAs): These are important towns and cities with at least 10,000 people.
  • Urban Centres: These are the actual built-up areas of cities and towns.
  • Local Government Areas (LGAs): These are the local councils that manage different parts of Australia.

Australia's Biggest Capital City Areas

Each capital city in Australia has its own Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics uses these areas to show the full size of each capital city, including the city itself and its surrounding areas where people live and work. When you hear about the population of a capital city in Australia, it's usually this number! These areas are a bit like what other countries call "metropolitan areas."

Rank Greater Capital City Statistical Area State/territory Estimated resident population Growth from
2011 to 2022
Included SUAs
June 2023 June 2011
1 Greater Sydney  New South Wales 5,450,496 4,608,949 &10000000000000018258978+18.26% Sydney
Central Coast
2 Greater Melbourne  Victoria 5,207,145 4,169,366 &10000000000000024890570+24.89% Melbourne
Bacchus Marsh
Gisborne
3 Greater Brisbane  Queensland 2,706,966 2,147,436 &10000000000000026055724+26.06% Brisbane
4 Greater Perth  Western Australia 2,309,338 1,833,567 &10000000000000025947838+25.95% Perth
5 Greater Adelaide  South Australia 1,446,380 1,264,091 &10000000000000014420559+14.42% Adelaide
6 Australian Capital Territory  Australian Capital Territory 466,566 367,985 &10000000000000026789407+26.79% CanberraQueanbeyan
(ACT part only)
7 Greater Hobart  Tasmania 253,654 216,273 &10000000000000017284173+17.28% Hobart
8 Greater Darwin  Northern Territory 150,736 129,106 &10000000000000016753675+16.75% Darwin

Significant Urban Areas by Population

Significant Urban Areas (SUAs) are places that are important towns or cities, or groups of smaller towns, that have at least 10,000 people living in them. These areas might even include more than one "Urban Centre" (which we'll explain next).

Did you know that 70% of all Australians live in the top eight most populated cities? That's a lot of people in just a few places!

The table below ranks the SUAs. You'll see that the capital cities are listed here too, but their SUA populations are usually smaller than their GCCSA populations. The only exception is Canberra, whose SUA includes nearby Queanbeyan in New South Wales.

Rank Significant
Urban Area
State/territory Estimated resident population Growth from
2011 to 2023
June 2023 June 2011
1 Melbourne  Victoria 5,103,528 4,087,822 &10000000000000024847119+24.85%
2 Sydney  New South Wales 5,041,275 4,240,340 &10000000000000018888461+18.89%
3 Brisbane  Queensland 2,622,585 2,076,608 &10000000000000026291770+26.29%
4 Perth  Western Australia 2,289,366 1,817,023 &10000000000000025995433+26.00%
5 Adelaide  South Australia 1,426,803 1,245,896 &10000000000000014520232+14.52%
6 Gold CoastTweed Heads  Queensland
 New South Wales
735,213 581,036 &10000000000000026534844+26.53%
7 NewcastleMaitland  New South Wales 526,515 453,265 &10000000000000016160524+16.16%
8 CanberraQueanbeyan  Australian Capital Territory
 New South Wales
503,402 405,032 &10000000000000024286969+24.29%
9 Sunshine Coast  Queensland 407,859 303,824 &10000000000000034241863+34.24%
10 Central Coast  New South Wales 348,435 314,941 &10000000000000010635007+10.64%
11 Wollongong  New South Wales 313,745 281,700 &10000000000000011375576+11.38%
12 Geelong  Victoria 302,046 227,957 &10000000000000032501305+32.50%
13 Hobart  Tasmania 232,450 198,534 &10000000000000017083220+17.08%
14 Townsville  Queensland 186,734 167,561 &10000000000000011442400+11.44%
15 Cairns  Queensland 160,933 139,212 &10000000000000015602821+15.60%
16 Toowoomba  Queensland 149,817 126,426 &10000000000000018501732+18.50%
17 Darwin  Northern Territory 137,002 116,995 &10000000000000017100730+17.10%
18 Ballarat  Victoria 116,390 93,459 &10000000000000024535892+24.54%
19 Bendigo  Victoria 104,883 87,340 &10000000000000020085871+20.09%
20 Albury-Wodonga  New South Wales
 Victoria
100,095 84,195 &10000000000000018884731+18.88%
21 Launceston  Tasmania 93,364 86,051 &10000000000000008498448+8.50%
22 Mackay  Queensland 88,162 79,683 &10000000000000010640914+10.64%
23 Rockhampton  Queensland 81,937 78,598 &10000000000000004248199+4.25%
24 Bunbury  Western Australia 81,367 67,860 &10000000000000019904214+19.90%
25 Bundaberg  Queensland 77,261 69,095 &10000000000000011818510+11.82%
26 Coffs Harbour  New South Wales 75,838 66,689 &10000000000000013718904+13.72%
27 Hervey Bay  Queensland 60,838 49,835 &10000000000000022078860+22.08%
28 Wagga Wagga  New South Wales 57,807 54,137 &10000000000000006779097+6.78%
29 Shepparton-Mooroopna  Victoria 54,494 47,571 &10000000000000014552983+14.55%
30 Mildura-Buronga  Victoria 54,427 48,505 &10000000000000012209050+12.21%
31 Port Macquarie  New South Wales 51,965 43,275 &10000000000000020080878+20.08%
32 Gladstone  Queensland 47,294 43,166 &10000000000000009563082+9.56%
33 Ballina  New South Wales 47,188 40,674 &10000000000000016015144+16.02%
34 Warragul–Drouin  Victoria 45,597 30,287 &10000000000000050549740+50.55%
35 Tamworth  New South Wales 45,496 40,085 &10000000000000013498815+13.50%
36 Busselton  Western Australia 43,853 31,475 &10000000000000039326449+39.33%
37 TraralgonMorwell  Victoria 43,739 40,609 &10000000000000007707651+7.71%
38 Orange  New South Wales 42,642 37,785 &10000000000000012854307+12.85%
39 BowralMittagong  New South Wales 41,982 36,266 &10000000000000015761319+15.76%
40 Dubbo  New South Wales 41,801 35,281 &10000000000000018480201+18.48%
41 Geraldton  Western Australia 41,086 36,884 &10000000000000011392473+11.39%
42 NowraBomaderry  New South Wales 39,702 34,604 &10000000000000014732400+14.73%
43 Bathurst  New South Wales 38,339 33,754 &10000000000000013583575+13.58%
44 Albany  Western Australia 37,037 31,791 &10000000000000016501525+16.50%
45 Warrnambool  Victoria 36,238 33,020 &10000000000000009745608+9.75%
46 Devonport  Tasmania 32,848 30,425 &10000000000000007963845+7.96%
47 Mount Gambier  South Australia 30,583 28,279 &10000000000000008147388+8.15%
48 KalgoorlieBoulder  Western Australia 30,504 31,933 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.47%
49 Victor HarborGoolwa  South Australia 29,798 24,422 &10000000000000022012939+22.01%
50 MorissetCooranbong  New South Wales 29,421 22,644 &10000000000000029928457+29.93%
51 Alice Springs  Northern Territory 29,213 28,489 &10000000000000002541331+2.54%
52 Nelson Bay  New South Wales 28,674 26,116 &10000000000000009794761+9.79%
53 BurnieSomerset  Tasmania 28,663 28,019 &10000000000000002298440+2.30%
54 Maryborough  Queensland 28,346 26,893 &10000000000000005402892+5.40%
55 Lismore  New South Wales 28,199 29,294 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.74%
56 Taree  New South Wales 26,740 26,307 &10000000000000001645949+1.65%
57 Bacchus Marsh  Victoria 26,055 17,488 &10000000000000048987877+48.99%
58 Goulburn  New South Wales 25,017 22,202 &10000000000000012679037+12.68%
59 Armidale  New South Wales 24,373 23,471 &10000000000000003843040+3.84%
60 Gympie  Queensland 23,497 19,971 &10000000000000017655600+17.66%
61 Gisborne  Victoria 23,056 18,570 &10000000000000024157242+24.16%
62 EchucaMoama  Victoria
 New South Wales
22,979 19,659 &10000000000000016887939+16.89%
63 Moe–Newborough  Victoria 22,170 21,432 &10000000000000003443449+3.44%
64 Whyalla  South Australia 21,807 22,471 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.95%
65 Yeppoon  Queensland 21,688 16,815 &10000000000000028980077+28.98%
66 ForsterTuncurry  New South Wales 21,074 20,273 &10000000000000003951067+3.95%
67 Griffith  New South Wales 20,538 18,683 &10000000000000009928812+9.93%
68 St Georges BasinSanctuary Point  New South Wales 20,200 16,967 &10000000000000019054635+19.05%
69 Wangaratta  Victoria 19,969 17,980 &10000000000000011062291+11.06%
70 Grafton  New South Wales 19,607 19,051 &10000000000000002918481+2.92%
71 Murray Bridge  South Australia 19,371 17,071 &10000000000000013473141+13.47%
72 Camden Haven  New South Wales 19,000 16,267 &10000000000000016800885+16.80%
73 Karratha  Western Australia 18,631 17,007 &10000000000000009549009+9.55%
74 Mount Isa  Queensland 18,518 21,417 Template:Number table sorting/negative−13.54%
75 Batemans Bay  New South Wales 17,692 16,352 &10000000000000008194716+8.19%
76 Broken Hill  New South Wales 17,624 19,151 Template:Number table sorting/negative−7.97%
77 Singleton  New South Wales 17,503 16,730 &10000000000000004620442+4.62%
78 Ulladulla  New South Wales 17,330 14,758 &10000000000000017427835+17.43%
79 Port Lincoln  South Australia 16,991 15,621 &10000000000000008770245+8.77%
80 Horsham  Victoria 16,876 16,099 &10000000000000004826386+4.83%
81 Port Hedland  Western Australia 16,834 14,372 &10000000000000017130531+17.13%
82 Kempsey  New South Wales 16,143 14,796 &10000000000000009103811+9.10%
83 Warwick  Queensland 16,064 14,950 &10000000000000007451505+7.45%
84 Medowie  New South Wales 16,058 12,686 &10000000000000026580482+26.58%
85 Broome  Western Australia 16,008 13,314 &10000000000000020234339+20.23%
86 Bairnsdale  Victoria 15,819 13,458 &10000000000000017543468+17.54%
87 Airlie Beach-Cannonvale  Queensland 15,723 10,982 &10000000000000043170642+43.17%
88 Ulverstone  Tasmania 15,408 14,739 &10000000000000004538978+4.54%
89 Sale  Victoria 15,363 14,441 &10000000000000006384599+6.38%
90 Emerald  Queensland 14,914 13,632 &10000000000000009404342+9.40%
91 Port Pirie  South Australia 14,169 14,281 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.78%
92 Port Augusta  South Australia 14,082 14,084 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.01%
93 Colac  Victoria 12,640 11,981 &10000000000000005500375+5.50%
94 Muswellbrook  New South Wales 12,590 12,222 &10000000000000003010963+3.01%
95 Esperance  Western Australia 12,565 11,777 &10000000000000006691007+6.69%
96 Mudgee  New South Wales 12,563 10,832 &10000000000000015980428+15.98%
97 Lithgow  New South Wales 12,253 12,686 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.41%
98 Castlemaine  Victoria 11,495 9,920 &10000000000000015877016+15.88%
99 Portland  Victoria 11,181 10,894 &10000000000000002634477+2.63%
100 Byron Bay  New South Wales 11,053 9,237 &10000000000000019660062+19.66%
101 Swan Hill  Victoria 10,948 10,610 &10000000000000003185673+3.19%
102 Kingaroy  Queensland 10,898 10,074 &10000000000000008179471+8.18%

Understanding Urban Centres

The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines an "Urban Centre" as a group of 1,000 or more people living close together. When we talk about people living in urban centres, it means they live in a city or town. These numbers show the population of the actual built-up areas of each city. The populations for Urban Centres are only updated after each census, so they might not be as current as the other population figures.

Rank
(2016)
Urban Centre Estimated resident population SUA
(if part of a larger SUA)
Ranking in state or territory, 2016
2016 census 2011 census 2006 census ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas WA Vic
1 Sydney 4,321,535 3,908,642 3,641,422 1
2 Melbourne 4,196,198 3,707,530 3,371,888 1
3 Brisbane 2,054,614 1,874,427 1,676,389 1
4 Perth 1,874,578 1,627,576 1,256,035 1
5 Adelaide 1,165,632 1,103,979 1,040,719 1
6 Gold CoastTweed Heads (Gold Coast part) 540,559 478,107 Gold Coast–Tweed Heads 2
7 CanberraQueanbeyan (Canberra part) 395,790 355,596 Canberra–Queanbeyan 1
8 Newcastle 322,278 308,308 288,732 Newcastle–Maitland 2
9 Central Coast 307,742 297,713 282,726 3
10 Wollongong 261,896 245,942 234,482 4
11 Sunshine Coast 243,377 209,263 184,662 3
12 Hobart 178,009 170,975 128,557 1
13 Townsville 168,729 157,748 128,808 4
14 Geelong 157,104 143,291 137,220 2
15 Cairns 144,730 133,893 98,349 5
16 Darwin 118,456 103,016 89,905 1
17 Toowoomba 100,032 96,597 95,265 6
18 Ballarat 93,759 85,935 78,221 3
19 Bendigo 92,379 82,794 76,051 4
20 Maitland 78,015 67,132 61,431 Newcastle–Maitland 5
21 Mackay 75,710 74,219 66,874 7
22 Launceston 75,329 74,085 71,395 2
23 Bunbury 71,090 64,385 54,482 2
24 Rockhampton 61,214 61,724 60,827 8
25 Gold CoastTweed Heads (Tweed Heads part) 59,776 55,553 Gold Coast–Tweed Heads 6
26 Melton 54,456 45,624 35,490 Melbourne 5
27 Hervey Bay 52,073 48,680 41,225 9
28 Bundaberg 50,148 49,750 46,961 10
29 Wagga Wagga 48,263 46,913 46,735 7
30 Coffs Harbour 48,225 45,580 26,353 8
31 Albury–Wodonga (Albury part) 47,974 45,627 Albury–Wodonga 9
32 Shepparton–Mooroopna 46,199 42,741 38,773 6
33 Port Macquarie 44,814 41,491 39,219 10
34 Orange 37,182 34,992 31,544 11
35 CanberraQueanbeyan (Queanbeyan part) 36,248 35,878 Canberra–Queanbeyan 12
36 Albury–Wodonga (Wodonga part) 35,130 31,605 Albury–Wodonga 7
37 Sunbury 34,425 33,062 29,566 Melbourne 8
38 Dubbo 34,339 32,327 30,574 13
39 Tamworth 33,885 36,131 33,475 14
40 Bathurst 33,587 31,294 28,992 15
41 MilduraBuronga (Mildura part) 33,444 31,361 Mildura–Wentworth 9
42 Gladstone 33,418 32,073 28,808 Gladstone–Tannum Sands 11
43 Geraldton 31,982 31,349 27,420 3
44 NowraBomaderry 30,853 27,988 27,478 16
45 Warrnambool 30,709 29,284 10
46 KalgoorlieBoulder 29,875 30,840 28,242 4
47 Albany 29,373 26,643 25,196 5
48 Blue Mountains 29,319 28,769 Sydney 17
49 Lismore 27,569 27,474 27,069 18
50 Gawler 26,472 23,957 20,006 Adelaide 2

Local Government Areas by Population

In Australia, Local Government Areas (LGAs) are the groups that manage local services. They can be called cities, councils, regions, shires, or towns. About 90% of Australia is covered by these local governments. Some parts of South Australia and New South Wales don't have a local government, and neither does the Australian Capital Territory.

The City of Brisbane is special because its local government area covers a large part of the actual city. For other capital cities, the main local government area is much smaller than the whole city. For example, in June 2020, the City of Darwin had about 82,030 people, City of Hobart had 55,250, City of Perth had 30,971, and City of Adelaide had 26,177. Many suburban local government areas in capital cities actually have more people than the central city's LGA!

Rank
(2021)
Local government area Estimated resident population Ranking in state, 2021
2021 2019 Qld NSW WA Vic SA
Steady 1 City of Brisbane 1,272,461 1,253,647 1
Steady 2 City of Gold Coast 643,461 620,437 2
Steady 3 City of Moreton Bay 486,645 469,442 3
Steady 4 City of Blacktown 387,104 374,372 1
Steady 5 City of Canterbury-Bankstown 378,425 377,836 2
Steady 6 City of Casey 368,861 353,962 1
Increase 7 City of Logan 348,020 334,353 4
Decrease 8 Central Coast Council 347,158 343,922 3
Steady 9 Sunshine Coast Region 343,590 328,390 5
Steady 10 City of Wyndham 289,571 270,607 2
Steady 11 Northern Beaches Council 272,184 273,409 4
Steady 12 City of Greater Geelong 269,508 258,938 3
Steady 13 City of Parramatta 258,799 257,094 5
Increase 14 City of Hume 243,738 233,545 4
Decrease 15 City of Sydney 242,237 245,942 6
Decrease 16 Cumberland Council 239,834 241,453 7
Steady 17 City of Whittlesea 237,932 220,297 5
Increase 18 City of Ipswich 236,708 222,311 6
Steady 19 City of Liverpool 234,917 227,545 8
Decrease 20 Sutherland Shire 234,275 230,579 9
Steady 21 City of Stirling 223,260 221,238 1
Steady 22 City of Wollongong 220,659 218,076 10
Steady 23 City of Penrith 219,173 212,944 11
Steady 24 City of Wanneroo 215,878 208,360 2
Increase 25 City of Lake Macquarie 210,031 205,875 12
Decrease 26 City of Fairfield 207,922 211,654 13
Decrease 27 City of Brimbank 201,680 209,568 6
Increase 28 Inner West Council 199,759 200,720 14
Increase 29 City of Townsville 197,992 195,022 7
Decrease 30 City of Monash 197,980 202,896 7
Increase 31 The Hills Shire 188,557 177,927 15
Decrease 32 City of Merri-bek 184,707 185,811 8
Increase 33 Bayside Council 182,369 178,351 16
Increase 34 City of Melton 179,107 164,936 9
Decrease 35 City of Boroondara 176,632 183,197 10
Steady 36 City of Whitehorse 175,970 178,779 11
Steady 37 City of Onkaparinga 175,711 172,945 1
Steady 38 City of Campbelltown 175,687 170,912 17
Increase 39 Toowoomba Region 171,135 168,992 8
Decrease 40 City of Melbourne 169,860 178,994 12
Increase 41 City of Newcastle 168,880 165,541 18
Decrease 42 Shire of Mornington Peninsula 168,865 167,619 13
Decrease 43 Cairns Region 168,853 166,849 9
Increase 44 City of Kingston 164,680 165,804 14
Decrease 45 City of Greater Dandenong 163,266 168,261 15
Increase 46 City of Knox 162,769 164,553 16
Decrease 47 City of Darebin 162,501 164,224 17
Increase 48 Redland City 161,463 158,801 10
Decrease 49 City of Joondalup 160,579 159,898 3
Steady 50 Georges River Council 159,266 159,431 19

How City Areas Are Defined

Sydney statistical areas
Sydney statistical areas

The map shows how the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines different areas around Sydney.

  • The Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) for Sydney is shown by the thick grey line. These are the eight largest areas that include each state or territory capital city. They are made up of one or more whole "labour market areas" (called SA4 units). The "Rest of NSW" area includes all other parts of New South Wales, as each state only has one GCCSA.
  • The Significant Urban Areas (SUAs) are shown by solid orange lines with red text. These areas represent important towns and cities, or groups of smaller towns, that have populations of 10,000 people or more. They are made from smaller areas called SA2 units, which are collections of suburbs and localities.
  • The Urban Centres/Localities are shown by dashed red lines with pink fill. These are the actual built-up parts of cities, towns, and smaller settlements. They are made from the smallest statistical areas, called SA1 units.

The map also shows 31 colored areas. These are the 31 local government areas that are generally considered to be part of Sydney, even if it's not an official definition.

See also

  • Demography of Australia
  • List of cities in Australia
  • List of cities in Oceania by population
  • List of largest cities in the world
  • List of places in New South Wales by population
  • List of places in Queensland by population
  • List of places in South Australia by population
  • List of places in Tasmania by population
  • List of places in Victoria by population
  • List of places in Western Australia by population
  • List of towns and cities in Australia by year of settlement
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