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List of cities in Australia by population

Australian cities by population

List of cities in Australia by population

Australian cities by population

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 10,000 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 federal and state/territorial governments) are also ranked.

Definitions

Sydney statistical areas

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). The population of urban centres is only updated every five years during the Census and is not estimated yearly by the ABS.

Also represented are 31 outlined coloured areas. These are the 31 local government areas that are commonly understood as comprising Sydney, albeit unofficially.

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas by population

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. 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.

RankGreater Capital City Statistical AreaState or territoryEstimated resident populationTen-year
growth rateIncluded SUA(s)title=Population estimates by LGA, Significant Urban Area, Remoteness Area and electoral division, 2001 to 2024url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-releaseaccess-date=27 March 2025website=abs.gov.aupublisher=Australian Bureau of Statisticslanguage=en}}June 2014
1**Greater Sydney**New South WalesSydney
Central Coast
2**Greater Melbourne**VictoriaMelbourne
Bacchus Marsh
Gisborne
3**Greater Brisbane**QueenslandBrisbane
4**Greater Perth**Western AustraliaPerth
5**Greater Adelaide**South AustraliaAdelaide
6**Australian Capital Territory**Australian Capital TerritoryCanberra–Queanbeyan
(ACT part only)
7**Greater Hobart**TasmaniaHobart
8**Greater Darwin**Northern TerritoryDarwin

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas by population density

RankGreater Capital City Statistical AreaState or territoryDensity
(/km2)Population (2024)Land
area
(km2)
1**Greater Melbourne**Victoria535.55,350,7059,993
2**Greater Adelaide**South Australia450.71,469,1633,260
3**Greater Sydney**New South Wales449.35,557,23312,369
4**Greater Perth**Western Australia371.62,384,3716,417
5**Australian Capital Territory**Australian Capital Territory201.0473,8552,358
6**Greater Brisbane**Queensland170.92,706,96615,842
7**Greater Hobart**Tasmania150.4254,9301,695
8**Greater Darwin**Northern Territory48.1152,4893,168

Significant Urban Areas by population

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.

RankSignificant
Urban AreaState or territoryEstimated resident populationTen-year
growth ratetitle=Population estimates by LGA, Significant Urban Area, Remoteness Area and electoral division, 2001 to 2024url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-releaseaccess-date=27 March 2025website=abs.gov.aupublisher=Australian Bureau of Statisticslanguage=en}}June 2014
1**Melbourne**Victoria
2**Sydney**New South Wales
3**Brisbane**Queensland
4**Perth**Western Australia
5**Adelaide**South Australia
6Gold Coast–Tweed HeadsQueensland
New South Wales
7Newcastle–MaitlandNew South Wales
8**Canberra**–QueanbeyanAustralian Capital Territory
New South Wales
9Sunshine CoastQueensland
10Central CoastNew South Wales
11WollongongNew South Wales
12GeelongVictoria
13**Hobart**Tasmania
14TownsvilleQueensland
15CairnsQueensland
16ToowoombaQueensland
17**Darwin**Northern Territory
18BallaratVictoria
19BendigoVictoria
20Albury–WodongaNew South Wales
Victoria
21LauncestonTasmania
22MackayQueensland
23RockhamptonQueensland
24BunburyWestern Australia
25BundabergQueensland
26Coffs HarbourNew South Wales
27Hervey BayQueensland
28Wagga WaggaNew South Wales
29Shepparton–MooroopnaVictoria
30Mildura–BurongaVictoria
New South Wales
31Port MacquarieNew South Wales
32GladstoneQueensland
33BallinaNew South Wales
34Warragul-DrouinVictoria
35TamworthNew South Wales
36BusseltonWestern Australia
37Traralgon-MorwellVictoria
38OrangeNew South Wales
39Bowral-MittagongNew South Wales
40DubboNew South Wales
41GeraldtonWestern Australia
42Nowra-BomaderryNew South Wales
43BathurstNew South Wales
44AlbanyWestern Australia
45WarrnamboolVictoria
46DevonportTasmania
47Kalgoorlie-BoulderWestern Australia
48Mount GambierSouth Australia
49Morisset-CooranbongNew South Wales
50Victor Harbor–GoolwaSouth Australia
51Alice SpringsNorthern Territory
52Nelson BayNew South Wales
53Burnie-SomersetTasmania
54MaryboroughQueensland
55LismoreNew South Wales
56TareeNew South Wales
57Bacchus MarshVictoria
58GoulburnNew South Wales
59ArmidaleNew South Wales
60GympieQueensland
61GisborneVictoria
62Echuca-MoamaVictoria
New South Wales
63Moe-NewboroughVictoria
64YeppoonQueensland
65WhyallaSouth Australia
66Forster-TuncurryNew South Wales
67GriffithNew South Wales
68St Georges Basin-Sanctuary PointNew South Wales
69WangarattaVictoria
70GraftonNew South Wales
71Murray BridgeSouth Australia
72Camden HavenNew South Wales
73KarrathaWestern Australia
74Mount IsaQueensland
75Batemans BayNew South Wales
76Broken HillNew South Wales
77SingletonNew South Wales
78UlladullaNew South Wales
79Port LincolnSouth Australia
80Port HedlandWestern Australia
81HorshamVictoria
82MedowieNew South Wales
83Airlie Beach-CannonvaleQueensland
84BroomeWestern Australia
85KempseyNew South Wales
86WarwickQueensland
87BairnsdaleVictoria
88UlverstoneTasmania
89SaleVictoria
90EmeraldQueensland
91Port PirieSouth Australia
92Port AugustaSouth Australia
93MudgeeNew South Wales
94ColacVictoria
95MuswellbrookNew South Wales
96EsperanceWestern Australia
97LithgowNew South Wales
98CastlemaineVictoria
99Byron BayNew South Wales
100PortlandVictoria
101KingaroyQueensland
102Swan HillVictoria

Map of the 20 largest Significant Urban Areas by population

Central business district populations

Below is a table of the capital city central business districts in Australia, defined as the suburb after which the city is named, or the core suburb in the case of Civic in Canberra. Melbourne has the highest population living in its CBD, a result of the high density of tall apartment buildings in the city centre, while the Adelaide CBD is the second most populated city centre in Australia despite being the fifth-most populous in urban area. This metric is affected by the definition of the central suburb vs CBD; for example, the suburb of Sydney does not include adjacent Barangaroo or Haymarket, which are often considered to be part of the Sydney CBD.

RankCapital City Central Business DistrictState/territoryCBD Population (2021)Area
(km2)Density
(/km2)
1**Melbourne**Victoria54,9416.58452.5
2**Adelaide**South Australia18,20210.51733.5
3**Sydney**New South Wales16,6672.945669.04
4**Perth**Western Australia13,6704.62971.7
5**Brisbane**Queensland12,5872.55034.8
6**Darwin**Northern Territory7,1491.93762.6
7**Canberra**Australian Capital Territory4,8351.53453.6
8**Hobart**Tasmania3,3901.91784.2

50 largest urban centres by population

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.{{cite web |title=Urban Centres and Localities - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3

Rank
(2021)Urban centreEstimated resident populationSUA
(if a part of a larger SUA)Ranking in state or territory, 2021ACTNSWNTQldSATasWAVic
1**Sydney**1
2**Melbourne**
3**Brisbane**1
4**Perth**
5**Adelaide**
6Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Gold Coast part)Gold Coast–Tweed Heads2
7**Canberra**–Queanbeyan (Canberra part)Canberra–Queanbeyan1
8NewcastleNewcastle–Maitland2
9Central Coast3
10Sunshine Coast3
11Wollongong4
12**Hobart**
13Geelong
14Townsville4
15Cairns5
16**Darwin**1
17Toowoomba6
18Ballarat
19Bendigo
20MaitlandNewcastle–Maitland5
21Launceston
22Mackay7
23MeltonMelbourne
24Bunbury
25Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Tweed Heads part)Gold Coast–Tweed Heads6
26Rockhampton8
27Hervey Bay9
28Albury–Wodonga (Albury part)Albury–Wodonga7
29Bundaberg10
30Coffs Harbour8
31Shepparton–Mooroopna
32Wagga Wagga9
33Port Macquarie10
34Orange11
35Dubbo12
36SunburyMelbourne
37Albury–Wodonga (Wodonga part)Albury–Wodonga
38**Canberra**–Queanbeyan (Queanbeyan part)Canberra–Queanbeyan13
39Bathurst14
40Mildura–Buronga (Mildura part)Mildura–Wentworth
41Tamworth15
42GladstoneGladstone–Tannum Sands11
43Nowra–Bomaderry16
44Warrnambool
45Geraldton
46Albany
47Blue MountainsSydney17
48Kalgoorlie–Boulder
49GawlerAdelaide
50Lismore18

Urban areas by population

Main urban areas in Australia, according to the Demographia:

Urban areaPopulationAreaDensity
Sydney4,836,0002,194 km²2,204 /km²
Melbourne4,709,0002,880 km²1,635 /km²
Brisbane-Gold Coast3,039,0002,647 km²1,148 /km²
Perth2,101,0001,720 km²1,222 /km²
Adelaide1,271,000855 km²1,488 /km²

50 largest local government areas by population

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.

RankLocal government areaEstimated resident populationRanking in state, 20242024QldNSWWAVicSA
City of Brisbane1
City of Gold Coast2
City of Moreton Bay3
City of Blacktown1
City of Casey1
City of Logan4
City of Canterbury-Bankstown2
Sunshine Coast Region5
Central Coast Council3
City of Wyndham2
City of Greater Geelong3
City of Parramatta4
City of Hume4
Northern Beaches Council5
City of Ipswich6
City of Liverpool6
City of Whittlesea5
Cumberland Council7
City of Stirling1
Sutherland Shire8
City of Wanneroo2
City of Sydney9
City of Penrith10
City of Wollongong11
City of Lake Macquarie12
City of Melton6
The Hills Shire13
City of Fairfield14
City of Monash7
City of Townsville7
City of Brimbank8
Inner West Council15
City of Melbourne9
City of Campbelltown16
City of Merri-bek10
Bayside Council17
Toowoomba Region8
City of Whitehorse11
City of Onkaparinga1
City of Swan3
Cairns Region9
City of Boroondara12
City of Newcastle18
City of Joondalup4
Shire of Mornington Peninsula13
Redland City10
City of Greater Dandenong14
City of Kingston15
City of Knox16
Georges River Council19

Notes

References

References

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