List of cities in Australia by population explained

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.

The eight Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are listed for the state and territory capital cities. All Significant Urban Areas (SUA), representing urban agglomerations of over 10,000 population, are listed next. The fifty largest Urban Centres (built-up area) are then ranked and, lastly, the fifty largest Local Government Areas (the units of local government below the states and territories) are also ranked.

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 territory 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	Growth from 2011 to 2022
June 2023^[2]	June 2011	Growth from 2011 to 2022
1	Greater Sydney	Sydney Central Coast
2	Greater Melbourne	Melbourne Bacchus Marsh Gisborne
3	Greater Brisbane	Brisbane
4	Greater Perth	Perth
5	Greater Adelaide	Adelaide
6	Australian Capital Territory	Canberra–Queanbeyan (ACT part only)
7	Greater Hobart	Hobart
8	Greater Darwin	Darwin

Notes

Significant urban areas by population

The following table ranks the SUAs, 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	Growth from 2011 to 2023
June 2023^[3]	June 2011	Growth from 2011 to 2023
1	Melbourne
2	Sydney
3	Brisbane
4	Perth
5	Adelaide
6	Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
7	Newcastle–Maitland
8	Canberra–Queanbeyan
9	Sunshine Coast
10	Central Coast
11	Wollongong
12	Geelong
13	Hobart
14	Townsville
15	Cairns
16	Toowoomba
17	Darwin
18	Ballarat
19	Bendigo
20	Albury–Wodonga
21	Launceston
22	Mackay
23	Rockhampton
24	Bunbury
25	Bundaberg
26	Coffs Harbour
27	Hervey Bay
28	Wagga Wagga
29	Shepparton–Mooroopna
30	Mildura–Buronga
31	Port Macquarie
32	Gladstone
33	Ballina
34	Warragul–Drouin
35	Tamworth
36	Busselton
37	Traralgon–Morwell
38	Orange
39	Bowral–Mittagong
40	Dubbo
41	Geraldton
42	Nowra–Bomaderry
43	Bathurst
44	Albany
45	Warrnambool
46	Devonport
47	Mount Gambier
48	Kalgoorlie–Boulder
49	Victor Harbor–Goolwa
50	Morisset–Cooranbong
51	Alice Springs
52	Nelson Bay
53	Burnie–Somerset
54	Maryborough
55	Lismore
56	Taree
57	Bacchus Marsh
58	Goulburn
59	Armidale
60	Gympie
61	Gisborne
62	Echuca–Moama
63	Moe–Newborough
64	Whyalla
65	Yeppoon
66	Forster–Tuncurry
67	Griffith
68	St Georges Basin–Sanctuary Point
69	Wangaratta
70	Grafton
71	Murray Bridge
72	Camden Haven
73	Karratha
74	Mount Isa
75	Batemans Bay
76	Broken Hill
77	Singleton
78	Ulladulla
79	Port Lincoln
80	Horsham
81	Port Hedland
82	Kempsey
83	Warwick
84	Medowie
85	Broome
86	Bairnsdale
87	Airlie Beach–Cannonvale
88	Ulverstone
89	Sale
90	Emerald
91	Port Pirie
92	Port Augusta
93	Colac
94	Muswellbrook
95	Esperance
96	Mudgee
97	Lithgow
98	Castlemaine
99	Portland
100	Byron Bay
101	Swan Hill
102	Kingaroy

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.

Rank	Urban Centre		Ranking in state or territory, 2016
^[4] ^[5]		ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	WA	Vic
1	Sydney							1
2	Melbourne													1
3	Brisbane									1
4	Perth												1
5	Adelaide										1
6	Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Gold Coast part)					Gold Coast–Tweed Heads				2
7	Canberra–Queanbeyan (Canberra part)					Canberra–Queanbeyan		1
8	Newcastle					Newcastle–Maitland		2
9	Central Coast							3
10	Wollongong							4
11	Sunshine Coast									3
12	Hobart											1
13	Townsville									4
14	Geelong													2
15	Cairns									5
16	Darwin								1
17	Toowoomba									6
18	Ballarat													3
19	Bendigo													4
20	Maitland					Newcastle–Maitland		5
21	Mackay									7
22	Launceston											2
23	Bunbury												2
24	Rockhampton									8
25	Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Tweed Heads part)					Gold Coast–Tweed Heads		6
26	Melton					Melbourne								5
27	Hervey Bay									9
28	Bundaberg									10
29	Wagga Wagga							7
30	Coffs Harbour							8
31	Albury–Wodonga (Albury part)					Albury–Wodonga		9
32	Shepparton–Mooroopna													6
33	Port Macquarie							10
34	Orange							11
35	Canberra–Queanbeyan (Queanbeyan part)					Canberra–Queanbeyan			12
36	Albury–Wodonga (Wodonga part)					Albury–Wodonga								7
37	Sunbury					Melbourne								8
38	Dubbo							13
39	Tamworth							14
40	Bathurst							15
41	Mildura–Buronga (Mildura part)					Mildura–Wentworth								9
42	Gladstone					Gladstone–Tannum Sands				11
43	Geraldton												3
44	Nowra–Bomaderry							16
45	Warrnambool													10
46	Kalgoorlie–Boulder												4
47	Albany												5
48	Blue Mountains					Sydney		17
49	Lismore							18
50	Gawler					Adelaide					2

Urban areas

Main urban areas in Australia, according to the Demographia:^[6]

Urban area	Population	Area	Density
Sydney	4,836,000	2,194 km²	2,204 /km²
Melbourne	4,709,000	2,880 km²	1,635 /km²
Brisbane-Gold Coast	3,039,000	2,647 km²	1,148 /km²
Perth	2,101,000	1,720 km²	1,222 /km²
Adelaide	1,271,000	855 km²	1,488 /km²

List of 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 around 90 per cent of the nation. Significant sections of South Australia and New South Wales 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.

The populations of the central local government areas in other capitals are relatively small. As of June 2020, Darwin had a population of, Hobart, Perth, and Adelaide . Most Australian capital cities have suburban local government areas significantly larger in population than the central local government area.

Rank	Local government area	Estimated resident population^[7]	Ranking in state, 2021
2021	2019	Qld	NSW	WA	Vic	SA
		City of Brisbane			1
		City of Gold Coast			2
		City of Moreton Bay			3
		City of Blacktown				1
		City of Canterbury-Bankstown				2
		City of Casey						1
		City of Logan			4
		Central Coast Council				3
		Sunshine Coast Region			5
		City of Wyndham						2
		Northern Beaches Council				4
		City of Greater Geelong						3
		City of Parramatta				5
		City of Hume						4
		City of Sydney				6
		Cumberland Council				7
		City of Whittlesea						5
		City of Ipswich			6
		City of Liverpool				8
		Sutherland Shire				9
		City of Stirling					1
		City of Wollongong				10
		City of Penrith				11
		City of Wanneroo					2
		City of Lake Macquarie				12
		City of Fairfield				13
		City of Brimbank						6
		Inner West Council				14
		City of Townsville			7
		City of Monash						7
		The Hills Shire				15
		City of Merri-bek						8
		Bayside Council				16
		City of Melton						9
		City of Boroondara						10
		City of Whitehorse						11
		City of Onkaparinga							1
		City of Campbelltown				17
		Toowoomba Region			8
		City of Melbourne						12
		City of Newcastle				18
		Shire of Mornington Peninsula						13
		Cairns Region			9
		City of Kingston						14
		City of Greater Dandenong						15
		City of Knox						16
		City of Darebin						17
		Redland City			10
		City of Joondalup					3
		Georges River Council				19

Definitions

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).

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

External links

Web site: Table 1: Population growth and turnover in Local Government Areas (LGAs), 2006 to 2011. 25 November 2009 . Australian Bureau of Statistics. 10 August 2015. — Spreadsheet of population data for local government areas in the 2006 and 2011 Australian census

Notes and References

Web site: ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION, States and Territories - Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) . 28 July 2017. abs.gov.au.
Web site: Population estimates by LGA, Significant Urban Area, Remoteness Area and electoral division, 2001 to 2022 . 26 March 2024 . abs.gov.au . Australian Bureau of Statistics . en.
Web site: Population estimates by LGA, Significant Urban Area, Remoteness Area and electoral division, 2001 to 2023 . 9 April 2024 . abs.gov.au . Australian Bureau of Statistics . en.
Web site: 1270.0.55.004 - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 4 - Significant Urban Areas, Urban Centres and Localities, Section of State, July 2016 - Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Ed 2016 in .csv format . Australian Bureau of Statistics . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 12 April 2021 . ASGS 2016.
Web site: 2016 Census Datapacks - General Community Profile - Urban Centres and Localities . Australian Bureau of Statistics . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 12 April 2021 . 2016 UCL datapacks.
http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf Demographia: World Urban Areas
Web site: Population estimates by LGA, Significant Urban Area, Remoteness Area and electoral division, 2001 to 2021. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 31 March 2022.