These lists of Australian cities by population provide rankings of Australian cities and towns according to various systems defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The eight Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) are listed for the state and territorial capital cities. All Significant Urban Areas (SUAs) over 50,000 people are listed next followed by the 50 largest urban centres by population. Lastly, the 50 largest local government areas (the third tier of government below the states and territories) are also ranked.
Illustrated are the various statistical areas defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for Sydney and its surrounds. The extent of the Greater Sydney Greater Capital City Statistical Area is designated by thick grey line and black text. The greater capital city statistical areas are the eight unique statistical divisions delineating the broadest possible concept of each state or territory capital city, constructed from one or more whole labour market areas (designated SA4 in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard). The rest of NSW area includes the entire remainder of the state, as each state or territory has only one GCCSA.
The Significant Urban Areas are designated by solid orange lines with stippled fill and red text. Significant urban areas are statistical divisions designed to represent significant towns and cities or associated collections of smaller towns, with total populations of 10,000 people or more. They consist of single, or clusters of, urban centres/localities (see below), and are constructed from one or more SA2 units, which are collations of suburbs and localities designed for consistent statistical output between censuses.
The urban centres/localities are designated by dashed red lines with pink fill. Urban centres/localities are statistical divisions delineating the contiguous built up, or urban areas of cities, towns and most small settlements. They are constructed from the smallest statistical output areas (SA1). Urban areas are not listed here as their population is only updated every five years during the Census and therefore not as current as the other data published on this page.
Also represented are 31 outlined coloured areas. These are the 31 local government areas that are commonly understood as comprising Sydney, albeit unofficially.
Each capital city forms its own Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA), which according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) represents a broad functional definition of each of the eight state and territorial capital cities. [1] In Australia, the population of the GCCSA is the most-often quoted figure for the population of capital cities. These units correspond broadly to the international concept of metropolitan areas.
Rank | Greater Capital City Statistical Area | State or territory | Estimated resident population | Ten-year growth rate | Included SUA(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2024 [2] | June 2014 [2] | |||||
1 | Greater Sydney | ![]() | 5,557,233 | 4,841,349 | +14.79% | Sydney Central Coast |
2 | Greater Melbourne | ![]() | 5,350,705 | 4,476,030 | +19.54% | Melbourne Bacchus Marsh Gisborne |
3 | Greater Brisbane | ![]() | 2,780,063 | 2,281,740 | +21.84% | Brisbane |
4 | Greater Perth | ![]() | 2,384,371 | 1,973,923 | +20.79% | Perth |
5 | Greater Adelaide | ![]() | 1,469,163 | 1,302,079 | +12.83% | Adelaide |
6 | Australian Capital Territory [a] | ![]() | 473,855 | 388,799 | +21.88% | Canberra–Queanbeyan (ACT part only) |
7 | Greater Hobart | ![]() | 254,930 | 221,365 | +15.16% | Hobart |
8 | Greater Darwin | ![]() | 152,489 | 141,169 | +8.02% | Darwin |
Rank | Greater Capital City Statistical Area | State or territory | Density (/km2) | Population (2023) [3] | Land area (km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Australian Capital Territory [a] | ![]() | 573 | 466,566 | 814.2 |
2 | Greater Melbourne | ![]() | 521.08 | 5,207,145 | 9,993 |
3 | Greater Adelaide | ![]() | 443.7 | 1,446,380 | 3,259.8 |
4 | Greater Sydney | ![]() | 440.7 | 5,450,496 | 12,367.7 |
5 | Greater Perth | ![]() | 359.8 | 2,309,338 | 6,417.9 |
6 | Greater Brisbane | ![]() | 170.9 | 2,706,966 | 15,842 |
7 | Greater Hobart | ![]() | 144.2 | 253,654 | 1,758.8 |
8 | Greater Darwin | ![]() | 47.6 | 150,736 | 3,163.8 |
The following table ranks all the Significant Urban Areas (SUAs) with a population greater than 10,000 people in 2024, including those of the capital cities (which are smaller than their respective GCCSAs, except for Canberra's, which includes adjacent Queanbeyan, in New South Wales). Capitals are in bold. Significant Urban Areas are defined to represent significant towns and cities, or agglomerations of smaller towns, that have at least 10,000 total population. Significant Urban Areas may contain more than one distinct urban centre. There are urban areas of greater than 10,000 people that the ABS does not currently classify as Significant Urban Areas.
70% of the Australian population live in the top eight most populous cities.
Rank | Significant Urban Area | State or territory | Estimated resident population | Ten-year growth rate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2024 [4] | June 2014 [4] | ||||
1 | Melbourne | ![]() | 5,245,182 | 4,388,223 | +19.53% |
2 | Sydney | ![]() | 5,143,256 | 4,462,430 | +15.26% |
3 | Brisbane | ![]() | 2,693,649 | 2,208,619 | +21.96% |
4 | Perth | ![]() | 2,363,562 | 1,956,188 | +20.82% |
5 | Adelaide | ![]() | 1,449,366 | 1,283,724 | +12.90% |
6 | Gold Coast–Tweed Heads | ![]() ![]() | 750,997 | 615,373 | +22.04% |
7 | Newcastle–Maitland | ![]() | 534,033 | 467,451 | +14.24% |
8 | Canberra –Queanbeyan | ![]() ![]() | 510,641 | 425,909 | +19.89% |
9 | Sunshine Coast | ![]() | 417,982 | 326,780 | +27.91% |
10 | Central Coast | ![]() | 351,237 | 327,056 | +7.39% |
11 | Wollongong | ![]() | 318,258 | 288,848 | +10.18% |
12 | Geelong | ![]() | 308,915 | 241,426 | +27.95% |
13 | Hobart | ![]() | 233,592 | 203,192 | +14.96% |
14 | Townsville | ![]() | 189,356 | 175,762 | +7.73% |
15 | Cairns | ![]() | 163,214 | 146,329 | +11.54% |
16 | Toowoomba | ![]() | 152,087 | 131,367 | +15.77% |
17 | Darwin | ![]() | 138,567 | 127,724 | +8.49% |
18 | Ballarat | ![]() | 119,284 | 98,125 | +21.56% |
19 | Bendigo | ![]() | 106,022 | 92,457 | +14.67% |
20 | Albury–Wodonga | ![]() ![]() | 101,370 | 87,982 | +15.22% |
21 | Launceston | ![]() | 93,194 | 85,523 | +8.97% |
22 | Mackay | ![]() | 89,193 | 81,454 | +9.50% |
23 | Rockhampton | ![]() | 82,876 | 79,096 | +4.78% |
24 | Bunbury | ![]() | 82,626 | 72,650 | +13.73% |
25 | Bundaberg | ![]() | 78,626 | 70,221 | +11.97% |
26 | Coffs Harbour | ![]() | 76,479 | 68,580 | +11.52% |
27 | Hervey Bay | ![]() | 62,184 | 51,929 | +19.75% |
28 | Wagga Wagga | ![]() | 57,963 | 54,977 | +5.43% |
29 | Shepparton–Mooroopna | ![]() | 55,212 | 49,632 | +11.24% |
30 | Mildura–Buronga | ![]() ![]() | 54,510 | 50,196 | +8.59% |
31 | Port Macquarie | ![]() | 52,661 | 45,227 | +16.44% |
32 | Gladstone | ![]() | 48,021 | 45,415 | +5.74% |
33 | Ballina | ![]() | 47,844 | 41,777 | +14.52% |
34 | Warragul-Drouin | ![]() | 46,710 | 33,205 | +40.67% |
35 | Tamworth | ![]() | 45,878 | 41,272 | +11.16% |
36 | Busselton | ![]() | 44,881 | 35,845 | +25.21% |
37 | Traralgon-Morwell | ![]() | 44,013 | 40,999 | +7.35% |
38 | Orange | ![]() | 42,977 | 39,041 | +10.08% |
39 | Bowral-Mittagong | ![]() | 42,278 | 37,366 | +13.15% |
40 | Dubbo | ![]() | 42,112 | 36,323 | +15.94% |
41 | Geraldton | ![]() | 41,450 | 38,792 | +6.85% |
42 | Nowra-Bomaderry | ![]() | 40,056 | 35,676 | +12.28% |
43 | Bathurst | ![]() | 38,642 | 34,881 | +10.78% |
44 | Albany | ![]() | 37,571 | 33,555 | +11.97% |
45 | Warrnambool | ![]() | 36,496 | 34,084 | +7.08% |
46 | Devonport | ![]() | 32,932 | 29,961 | +9.92% |
47 | Kalgoorlie-Boulder | ![]() | 30,719 | 32,232 | −4.69% |
48 | Mount Gambier | ![]() | 30,663 | 29,178 | +5.09% |
49 | Morisset-Cooranbong | ![]() | 30,459 | 23,488 | +29.68% |
50 | Victor Harbor–Goolwa | ![]() | 30,324 | 25,517 | +18.84% |
51 | Alice Springs | ![]() | 29,693 | 27,486 | +8.03% |
52 | Nelson Bay | ![]() | 28,834 | 26,872 | +7.30% |
53 | Burnie-Somerset | ![]() | 28,684 | 27,340 | +4.92% |
54 | Maryborough | ![]() | 28,598 | 27,162 | +5.29% |
55 | Lismore | ![]() | 27,983 | 29,229 | −4.26% |
56 | Taree | ![]() | 26,812 | 26,382 | +1.63% |
57 | Bacchus Marsh | ![]() | 26,576 | 19,632 | +35.37% |
58 | Goulburn | ![]() | 25,304 | 22,897 | +10.51% |
59 | Armidale | ![]() | 24,386 | 23,856 | +2.22% |
60 | Gympie | ![]() | 24,017 | 20,903 | +14.90% |
61 | Gisborne | ![]() | 23,626 | 19,913 | +18.65% |
62 | Echuca-Moama | ![]() ![]() | 23,147 | 20,414 | +13.39% |
63 | Moe-Newborough | ![]() | 22,449 | 21,390 | +4.95% |
64 | Yeppoon | ![]() | 22,120 | 18,076 | +22.37% |
65 | Whyalla | ![]() | 21,764 | 22,624 | −3.80% |
66 | Forster-Tuncurry | ![]() | 21,198 | 20,503 | +3.39% |
67 | Griffith | ![]() | 20,690 | 19,309 | +7.15% |
68 | St Georges Basin-Sanctuary Point | ![]() | 20,356 | 17,940 | +13.47% |
69 | Wangaratta | ![]() | 20,069 | 18,437 | +8.85% |
70 | Grafton | ![]() | 19,720 | 19,046 | +3.54% |
71 | Murray Bridge | ![]() | 19,710 | 17,754 | +11.02% |
72 | Camden Haven | ![]() | 19,482 | 16,502 | +18.06% |
73 | Karratha | ![]() | 19,051 | 17,698 | +7.64% |
74 | Mount Isa | ![]() | 18,356 | 20,844 | −11.94% |
75 | Batemans Bay | ![]() | 17,722 | 16,332 | +8.51% |
76 | Broken Hill | ![]() | 17,541 | 18,627 | −5.83% |
77 | Singleton | ![]() | 17,447 | 16,625 | +4.94% |
78 | Ulladulla | ![]() | 17,435 | 15,189 | +14.79% |
79 | Port Lincoln | ![]() | 17,044 | 16,057 | +6.15% |
80 | Port Hedland | ![]() | 17,007 | 14,693 | +15.75% |
81 | Horsham | ![]() | 16,956 | 16,307 | +3.98% |
82 | Medowie | ![]() | 16,615 | 13,597 | +22.20% |
83 | Airlie Beach-Cannonvale | ![]() | 16,280 | 12,583 | +29.38% |
84 | Broome | ![]() | 16,238 | 14,639 | +10.92% |
85 | Kempsey | ![]() | 16,232 | 15,006 | +8.17% |
86 | Warwick | ![]() | 16,156 | 15,484 | +4.34% |
87 | Bairnsdale | ![]() | 15,790 | 14,157 | +11.53% |
88 | Ulverstone | ![]() | 15,409 | 14,539 | +5.98% |
89 | Sale | ![]() | 15,386 | 14,729 | +4.46% |
90 | Emerald | ![]() | 15,182 | 13,973 | +8.65% |
91 | Port Pirie | ![]() | 14,181 | 14,484 | −2.09% |
92 | Port Augusta | ![]() | 14,114 | 14,184 | −0.49% |
93 | Mudgee | ![]() | 12,796 | 11,638 | +9.95% |
94 | Colac | ![]() | 12,660 | 12,245 | +3.39% |
95 | Muswellbrook | ![]() | 12,611 | 12,309 | +2.45% |
96 | Esperance | ![]() | 12,515 | 12,385 | +1.05% |
97 | Lithgow | ![]() | 12,235 | 12,976 | −5.71% |
98 | Castlemaine | ![]() | 11,538 | 10,308 | +11.93% |
99 | Byron Bay | ![]() | 11,244 | 9,852 | +14.13% |
100 | Portland | ![]() | 11,178 | 10,922 | +2.34% |
101 | Kingaroy | ![]() | 11,009 | 10,525 | +4.60% |
102 | Swan Hill | ![]() | 10,839 | 10,959 | −1.09% |
Urban centres are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as being a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. For statistical purposes, people living in urban centres are classified as urban. The figures below represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city; with state and territory capitals in bold. These figures are only updated every census, as the ABS does not render population projections for urban centres, and as such can only be as up-to-date as the most recent census year. Unlike significant urban areas, urban centres that cross state boundaries are split into separate parts for each state. [5]
Rank (2021) | Urban centre | Estimated resident population | SUA (if a part of a larger SUA) | Ranking in state or territory, 2021 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 census | 2016 census [6] [7] | 2011 census | 2006 census | ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | WA | Vic | ||||||
1 | Sydney | 4,698,656 | [8] | 4,321,535 | 3,908,642 | [9] | 3,641,422 | [10] | 1 | ||||||||
2 | Melbourne | 4,585,537 | [11] | 4,196,198 | 3,707,530 | [12] | 3,371,888 | [13] | 1 | ||||||||
3 | Brisbane | 2,287,896 | [14] | 2,054,614 | 1,874,427 | [15] | 1,676,389 | [16] | 1 | ||||||||
4 | Perth | 2,043,762 | [17] | 1,874,578 | 1,627,576 | [18] | 1,256,035 | [19] | 1 | ||||||||
5 | Adelaide | 1,245,011 | [20] | 1,165,632 | 1,103,979 | [21] | 1,040,719 | [22] | 1 | ||||||||
6 | Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Gold Coast part) | 607,665 | [23] | 540,559 | 478,107 | [24] | Gold Coast–Tweed Heads | 2 | |||||||||
7 | Canberra –Queanbeyan (Canberra part) | 452,670 | [25] | 395,790 | 355,596 | [26] | Canberra–Queanbeyan | 1 | |||||||||
8 | Newcastle | 348,539 | [27] | 322,278 | 308,308 | [28] | 288,732 | [29] | Newcastle–Maitland | 2 | |||||||
9 | Central Coast | 325,255 | [30] | 307,742 | 297,713 | [31] | 282,726 | [32] | 3 | ||||||||
10 | Sunshine Coast | 284,131 | [33] | 243,377 | 209,263 | [34] | 184,662 | [35] | 3 | ||||||||
11 | Wollongong | 280,153 | [36] | 261,896 | 245,942 | [37] | 234,482 | [38] | 4 | ||||||||
12 | Hobart | 197,451 | [39] | 178,009 | 170,975 | [40] | 128,557 | [41] | 1 | ||||||||
13 | Geelong | 180,239 | [42] | 157,104 | 143,291 | [43] | 137,220 | [44] | 2 | ||||||||
14 | Townsville | 173,724 | [45] | 168,729 | 157,748 | [46] | 128,808 | [47] | 4 | ||||||||
15 | Cairns | 153,181 | [48] | 144,730 | 133,893 | [49] | 98,349 | [50] | 5 | ||||||||
16 | Darwin | 122,207 | [51] | 118,456 | 103,016 | [52] | 89,905 | [53] [54] | 1 | ||||||||
17 | Toowoomba | 108,398 | [55] | 100,032 | 96,597 | [56] | 95,265 | [57] | 6 | ||||||||
18 | Ballarat | 105,348 | [58] | 93,759 | 85,935 | [59] | 78,221 | [60] | 3 | ||||||||
19 | Bendigo | 100,649 | [61] | 92,379 | 82,794 | [62] | 76,051 | [63] | 4 | ||||||||
20 | Maitland | 89,597 | [64] | 78,015 | 67,132 | [65] | 61,431 | [66] | Newcastle–Maitland | 5 | |||||||
21 | Launceston | 80,943 | [67] | 75,329 | 74,085 | [68] | 71,395 | [69] | 2 | ||||||||
22 | Mackay | 80,455 | [70] | 75,710 | 74,219 | [71] | 66,874 | [72] | 7 | ||||||||
23 | Melton | 76,346 | [73] | 54,456 | 45,624 | [74] | 35,490 | [75] | Melbourne | 5 | |||||||
24 | Bunbury | 75,196 | [76] | 71,090 | 64,385 | [77] | 54,482 | [78] | 2 | ||||||||
25 | Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Tweed Heads part) | 63,721 | [79] | 59,776 | 55,553 | [80] | Gold Coast–Tweed Heads | 6 | |||||||||
26 | Rockhampton | 63,151 | [81] | 61,214 | 61,724 | [82] | 60,827 | [83] | 8 | ||||||||
27 | Hervey Bay | 57,722 | [84] | 52,073 | 48,680 | [85] | 41,225 | [86] | 9 | ||||||||
28 | Albury–Wodonga (Albury part) | 53,677 | [87] | 47,974 | 45,627 | [88] | Albury–Wodonga | 7 | |||||||||
29 | Bundaberg | 52,370 | [89] | 50,148 | 49,750 | [90] | 46,961 | [91] | 10 | ||||||||
30 | Coffs Harbour | 51,069 | [92] | 48,225 | 45,580 | [93] | 26,353 | [94] | 8 | ||||||||
31 | Shepparton–Mooroopna | 49,862 | [95] | 46,199 | 42,741 | [96] | 38,773 | [97] | 6 | ||||||||
32 | Wagga Wagga | 49,686 | [98] | 48,263 | 46,913 | [99] | 46,735 | [100] | 9 | ||||||||
33 | Port Macquarie | 47,793 | [101] | 44,814 | 41,491 | [102] | 39,219 | [103] | 10 | ||||||||
34 | Orange | 40,127 | [104] | 37,182 | 34,992 | [105] | 31,544 | [106] | 11 | ||||||||
35 | Dubbo | 38,783 | [107] | 34,339 | 32,327 | [108] | 30,574 | [109] | 12 | ||||||||
36 | Sunbury | 38,010 | [110] | 34,425 | 33,062 | [111] | 29,566 | [112] | Melbourne | 7 | |||||||
37 | Albury–Wodonga (Wodonga part) | 37,839 | [113] | 35,130 | 31,605 | [114] | Albury–Wodonga | 8 | |||||||||
38 | Canberra –Queanbeyan (Queanbeyan part) | 37,511 | [115] | 36,248 | 35,878 | [116] | Canberra–Queanbeyan | 13 | |||||||||
39 | Bathurst | 36,230 | [117] | 33,587 | 31,294 | [118] | 28,992 | [119] | 14 | ||||||||
40 | Mildura–Buronga (Mildura part) | 35,652 | [120] | 33,444 | 31,361 | [121] | Mildura–Wentworth | 9 | |||||||||
41 | Tamworth | 35,415 | [122] | 33,885 | 36,131 | [123] | 33,475 | [124] | 15 | ||||||||
42 | Gladstone | 34,703 | [125] | 33,418 | 32,073 | [126] | 28,808 | [127] | Gladstone–Tannum Sands | 11 | |||||||
43 | Nowra–Bomaderry | 33,583 | [128] | 30,853 | 27,988 | [129] | 27,478 | [130] | 16 | ||||||||
44 | Warrnambool | 32,894 | [131] | 30,709 | 29,284 | [132] | 10 | ||||||||||
45 | Geraldton | 32,717 | [133] | 31,982 | 31,349 | [134] | 27,420 | [135] | 3 | ||||||||
46 | Albany | 31,128 | [136] | 29,373 | 26,643 | [137] | 25,196 | [138] | 4 | ||||||||
47 | Blue Mountains | 30,049 | [139] | 29,319 | 28,769 | [140] | Sydney | 17 | |||||||||
48 | Kalgoorlie–Boulder | 29,068 | [141] | 29,875 | 30,840 | [142] | 28,242 | [143] | 5 | ||||||||
49 | Gawler | 28,562 | [144] | 26,472 | 23,957 | [145] | 20,006 | [146] | Adelaide | 2 | |||||||
50 | Lismore | 27,916 | [147] | 27,569 | 27,474 | [148] | 27,069 | [149] | 18 |
Local government areas (LGAs) are the main units of local government in Australia. They may be termed cities, councils, regions, shires, towns, or other names, and all function similarly. Local government areas cover approx. 90% of the country. Significant sections of New South Wales and South Australia are unincorporated, that is, have no defined local government, along with the ACT and smaller sections of Northern Territory and Victoria. Brisbane is the only state capital city with its respective LGA (City of Brisbane) covering a significant portion of its urban area. In other capital cities, the central LGA covers a much smaller proportion of the total urban area.Most Australian capital cities have suburban local government areas significantly larger in population than the central local government area.