List of cities in Australia by population


This list of Australian cities by population provides rankings of Australian cities according to various systems defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Firstly, they are ranked by Greater Capital City Statistical Area and Significant Urban Area. In separate tables, they are then also ranked by Urban Centres and by Local Government Area.

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas/Significant Urban Areas by population

Each capital city forms its own Greater Capital City Statistical Area, which according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics represents a broad socioeconomic definition of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. Significant Urban Areas are similarly defined but include population centres which are not capital cities. In Australia, the population of the GCCSA/SUA is the most-often quoted figure for that city's population, though these correspond to the more common and international usage of metropolitan areas.
The following ranks GCCSAs and SUAs which are not included within the GCCSAs.
Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are in bold, the remainder are Significant Urban Areas.
RankGCCSA/SUAState/TerritoryJune 20182011 Census
Population		GrowthPercentage of
national population
1SydneyNew South Wales5,230,330+19.10%20.93%
2MelbourneVictoria4,936,349+24.08%19.86%
3BrisbaneQueensland2,462,637+19.20%9.85%
4PerthWestern Australia2,059,484+19.12%8.24%
5AdelaideSouth Australia1,345,777+6.56%5.38%
6Gold Coast–Tweed HeadsQueensland/New South Wales679,127+21.75%2.72%
7Newcastle–MaitlandNew South Wales486,704+22.05%1.95%
8Canberra–QueanbeyanAustralian Capital Territory/New South Wales457,563+16.83%1.83%
9Sunshine CoastQueensland333,436+23.14%1.33%
10WollongongNew South Wales302,739+12.57%1.21%
11GeelongVictoria268,277+54.67%1.07%
12HobartTasmania232,606211,656+9.90%0.93%
13TownsvilleQueensland180,820+11.42%0.72%
14CairnsQueensland152,729+14.05%0.61%
15DarwinNorthern Territory148,564+23.20%0.59%
16ToowoombaQueensland136,861+29.13%0.55%
17BallaratVictoria105,471+14.89%0.42%
18BendigoVictoria99,122+15.15%0.40%
19Albury–WodongaNew South Wales/Victoria93,603+14.03%0.37%
20LauncestonTasmania87,382+6.21%0.35%
21MackayQueensland80,148+3.69%0.32%
22RockhamptonQueensland78,592+6.67%0.31%
23BunburyWestern Australia74,363+13.34%0.30%
24Coffs HarbourNew South Wales71,822+11.80%0.29%
25BundabergQueensland70,921+5.32%0.28%
26Wagga WaggaNew South Wales56,442+8.45%0.23%
27Hervey BayQueensland54,674+12.31%0.22%
28Mildura–WentworthVictoria/New South Wales51,903+9.19%0.21%
29Shepparton–MooroopnaVictoria51,631+11.02%0.21%
30Port MacquarieNew South Wales47,973+14.98%0.19%
31Gladstone–Tannum SandsQueensland45,130+7.54%0.18%
32TamworthNew South Wales42,872+10.68%0.17%
33Traralgon–MorwellVictoria41,984+5.74%0.17%
34OrangeNew South Wales40,493+11.04%0.16%
35Bowral–MittagongNew South Wales39,887+14.43%0.16%
36BusseltonWestern Australia38,921+28.51%0.16%
37DubboNew South Wales38,392+12.93%0.15%
38Warragul–DrouinVictoria37,928+26.66%0.15%
39GeraldtonWestern Australia37,648+5.31%0.15%
40Nowra–BomaderryNew South Wales37,420+12.24%0.15%
41BathurstNew South Wales36,801+13.31%0.15%
42WarrnamboolVictoria35,214+8.75%0.14%
43AlbanyWestern Australia34,205+11.58%0.14%
44DevonportTasmania30,297+4.29%0.12%
45Kalgoorlie–BoulderWestern Australia29,849−3.22%0.12%
46Mount GambierSouth Australia29,639+6.78%0.12%
47LismoreNew South Wales28,720+1.54%0.11%
48Nelson BayNew South Wales28,051+11.87%0.11%
49MaryboroughQueensland27,282+4.07%0.11%
50Burnie–WynyardTasmania27,174+1.15%0.11%
51Alice SpringsNorthern Territory26,534+5.35%0.11%
52Victor Harbor–GoolwaSouth Australia26,532+11.25%0.11%
53BallinaNew South Wales26,381+12.22%0.11%
54TareeNew South Wales26,381+3.78%0.11%
55Morisset–CooranbongNew South Wales25,309+16.23%0.10%
56ArmidaleNew South Wales24,504+9.08%0.10%
57GoulburnNew South Wales23,835+10.94%0.10%
58WhyallaSouth Australia21,742−1.13%0.09%
59GympieQueensland21,599+10.71%0.09%
60Echuca–MoamaVictoria/New South Wales21,242+10.01%0.08%
61Forster–TuncurryNew South Wales21,159+6.51%0.08%
62GriffithNew South Wales20,251+13.13%0.08%
63WangarattaVictoria19,318+9.23%0.08%
64St Georges Basin–Sanctuary PointNew South Wales19,251+52.65%0.08%
65GraftonNew South Wales19,078+3.92%0.08%
66YeppoonQueensland19,003+16.07%0.08%
67Murray BridgeSouth Australia18,779+12.40%0.08%
68Mount IsaQueensland18,588−9.63%0.07%
69Camden HavenNew South Wales17,835+13.30%0.07%
70Broken HillNew South Wales17,734−4.23%0.07%
71Moe–NewboroughVictoria16,812+0.83%0.07%
72KarrathaWestern Australia16,708+1.41%0.07%
73HorshamVictoria16,514+3.90%0.07%
74Batemans BayNew South Wales16,485+4.78%0.07%
75SingletonNew South Wales16,346+1.31%0.07%
76Port LincolnSouth Australia16,326+7.26%0.07%
77UlladullaNew South Wales16,213+14.59%0.06%
78BairnsdaleVictoria15,411+16.37%0.06%
79WarwickQueensland15,380+5.29%0.06%
80KempseyNew South Wales15,309+5.62%0.06%
81SaleVictoria15,021+5.35%0.06%
82UlverstoneTasmania14,490+2.70%0.06%
83BroomeWestern Australia14,445+13.15%0.06%
84Port HedlandWestern Australia14,320+3.98%0.06%
85Port PirieSouth Australia14,188+1.03%0.06%
86EmeraldQueensland14,119+6.81%0.06%
87Port AugustaSouth Australia13,799+1.03%0.06%
88LithgowNew South Wales12,973+5.91%0.05%
89ColacVictoria12,547+6.53%0.05%
90MudgeeNew South Wales12,410+18.38%0.05%
91MuswellbrookNew South Wales12,364+4.86%0.05%
92EsperanceWestern Australia12,145+6.24%0.05%
93ParkesNew South Wales11,224+2.59%0.04%
94Swan HillVictoria11,103+6.45%0.04%
95PortlandVictoria10,900+1.73%0.04%
96KingaroyQueensland10,398+6.02%0.04%

;Notes

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 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.

50 largest local government areas by population

are the main units of local government in Australia. They may be termed cities, shires, councils 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, which covers multiple LGAs, is the only state capital city with a local government area covering a significant portion of its urban area. Other capital cities are serviced by LGAs which cover a much smaller proportion of their total urban areas.
The following table lists local government areas ranked by order based on the estimated population as sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics product Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18 .
Apart from the City of Brisbane, the populations of the central local government areas in other capitals are relatively small. In June 2018, Melbourne had, Darwin, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. Generally speaking, there are many suburban local government areas in most Australian capitals that are significantly larger in population than the central business district local government area.

Definitions

Illustrated are the various statistical areas defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for Sydney and its surrounding area. 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. 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, 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.
Also represented are 31 outlined coloured areas. These are the 31 Local Government Areas that are commonly understood as comprising Sydney, albeit unofficially.