List of cities in Australia by population

This list of Australian cities by population briefly explains the three different population figures given for Australian cities, and provides rankings for each.

Capital city Statistical Divisions and Statistical Districts by population

Statistical Divisions (SDs) are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as areas under the unifying influence of one or more major towns or cities. Each capital city forms its own Statistical Division, and in Australia the population of the SD is the most-often quoted figure for that city's population. Statistical Districts are defined as non-capital but predominantly urban areas. The Australian Government treats divisions and districts with more than 100,000 people as metropolitan.

Statistical Divisions are in bold, the rest are Statistical Districts.

Sydney

Melbourne

Brisbane

Perth

Adelaide

Darwin

Gold Coast

Newcastle

Rank	Statistical Division/District	2006 census result
1	Sydney, New South Wales [1]	4,119,190
2	Melbourne, Victoria [2]	3,592,591
3	Brisbane, Queensland [3]	1,763,131
4	Perth, Western Australia [4]	1,445,078
5	Adelaide, South Australia [5]	1,105,839
6	Gold Coast-Tweed, Queensland/New South Wales [6]	527,660
7	Newcastle, New South Wales [7]	493,465
8	Canberra-Queanbeyan, Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales [8]	368,129
*	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	323,056
9	Sunshine Coast, Queensland [9]	276,266
10	Wollongong, New South Wales [10]	263,535
11	Greater Hobart, Tasmania [11]	200,525
12	Geelong, Victoria [12]	160,991
13	Townsville, Queensland [13]	143,328
14	Cairns, Queensland [14]	122,731
15	Toowoomba, Queensland [15]	114,479
16	Darwin, Northern Territory [16]	105,991
17	Launceston, Tasmania [17]	99,675
18	Coffs Harbour, New South Wales [18]	97,425
19	Albury-Wodonga, New South Wales/Victoria [19]	96,288
20	Ballarat, Victoria [20]	85,197
21	Bendigo, Victoria [21]	81,939
22	Burnie-Devonport, Tasmania [22]	77,410
23	Latrobe Valley, Victoria (incl. Moe, Morwell, Traralgon) [23]	73,476
24	Mackay, Queensland [24]	72,847
25	Rockhampton, Queensland [25]	68,835
26	Mandurah, Western Australia [26]	67,787
27	Bundaberg, Queensland [27]	59,768
28	Bunbury, Western Australia [28]	54,968
29	Wagga Wagga, New South Wales [29]	52,489
30	Hervey Bay, Queensland [30]	48,157
31	Mildura, Victoria [31]	46,035
32	Shepparton, Victoria [32]	44,599
33	Gladstone, Queensland [33]	42,903
34	Tamworth, New South Wales [34]	42,499
35	Port Macquarie, New South Wales [35]	39,506
36	Orange, New South Wales [36]	35,338
37	Dubbo, New South Wales [37]	34,319
38	Geraldton, Western Australia [38]	31,553
39	Nowra-Bomaderry, New South Wales [39]	30,955
40	Bathurst, New South Wales [40]	30,744
41	Warrnambool, Victoria [41]	30,392
42	Lismore, New South Wales [42]	30,086
43	Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia [43]	28,242

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. These figures represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city.

State and territory capitals are in bold.

Rank	Urban Centre	Total number of persons, 2001 census	Stat. Division/District (if part of larger SD)
1	Sydney, New South Wales	3,455,110
2	Melbourne, Victoria	3,132,900
3	Brisbane, Queensland	1,490,475
4	Perth, Western Australia	1,162,716
5	Adelaide, South Australia	995,955
6	Gold Coast-Tweed Heads, Queensland/New South Wales	406,619
7	Canberra-Queanbeyan, Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales	336,805
8	Newcastle, New South Wales	278,773
9	Central Coast, New South Wales	254,579	Sydney
10	Wollongong, New South Wales	227,522
11	Sunshine Coast, Queensland	165,089
12	Townsville-Thuringowa, Queensland	154,628
13	Geelong, Victoria	129,668
14	Hobart, Tasmania	125 162
15	Cairns, Queensland	90,085
16	Toowoomba, Queensland	88,776
17	Ballarat, Victoria	83,766
18	Albury-Wodonga, New South Wales/Victoria	79,664
19	Bendigo, Victoria	78,480
20	Darwin, Northern Territory	68,694
21	Launceston, Tasmania	68,088
22	Rockingham, Western Australia	60,529	Perth
23	Rockhampton, Queensland	58,950
24	Mackay, Queensland	57,321
25	Maitland, New South Wales	53,391	Newcastle
26	Mandurah, Western Australia	46,549
27	Bunbury, Western Australia	45,153
28	Wagga Wagga, New South Wales	44,272
29	Bundaberg, Queensland	44,154
30	Port Macquarie, New South Wales	37,696
31	Shepparton-Mooroopna, Victoria	35,754
32	Hervey Bay, Queensland	35,106
33	Tamworth, New South Wales	32,440
34	Melton, Victoria	32,007	Melbourne
35	Orange, New South Wales	31,923
36	Dubbo, New South Wales	30,860
37	Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia	28,196
38	Mildura, Victoria	27,931
39	Lismore, New South Wales	27,193
40	Bathurst, New South Wales	26,920
41	Warrnambool, Victoria	26,669
42	Gladstone, Queensland	26,509
43	Coffs Harbour, New South Wales	25,828
44	Richmond-Windsor, New South Wales	25,809	Sydney
45	Geraldton, Western Australia	25,324
46	Sunbury, Victoria	25,086	Melbourne
47	Nowra-Bomaderry, New South Wales	24,700
48	Alice Springs, Northern Territory	23,384	(no Stat. dist.)
49	Mount Gambier, South Australia	22,656	(no Stat. dist.)
50	Albany, Western Australia	22,256	(no Stat. dist.)

25 largest Local Government Areas by population

Local Government Areas are the main units of local government in Australia. They may be termed cities, shires, councils or other names, but they all function similarly. Brisbane is the only capital city with one LGA covering a large part of its urban area.

Rank	Local Government Area	2006 census results	Stat. Division/District
1	Brisbane City, Queensland [44]	956,129	Brisbane
2	Gold Coast City, Queensland [45]	472,279	Gold Coast
*	Australian Capital Territory [46]	324,034	Canberra
3	City of Blacktown, New South Wales [47]	271,709	Sydney
4	City of Casey, Victoria [48]	214,960	Melbourne
5	Sutherland Shire, New South Wales [49]	205,448	Sydney
6	City of Greater Geelong, Victoria [50]	197,479	Geelong
7	City of Wollongong, New South Wales [51]	184,212	Wollongong
8	City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales [52]	183,138	Newcastle
9	City of Fairfield, New South Wales [53]	179,893	Sydney
10	City of Stirling, Western Australia [54]	176,872	Perth
11	Logan City, Queensland [55]	173,264	Brisbane
12	City of Penrith, New South Wales [56]	172,140	Sydney
13	City of Bankstown, New South Wales [57]	170,489	Sydney
14	City of Brimbank, Victoria [58]	168,215	Melbourne
15	City of Liverpool, New South Wales [59]	164,603	Sydney
16	City of Gosford, New South Wales [60]	158,157	Sydney
17	City of Sydney, New South Wales [61]	156,571	Sydney
18	City of Monash, Victoria [62]	155,061	Melbourne
19	City of Boroondara, Victoria [63]	148,532	Melbourne
20	City of Joondalup, Western Australia [64]	147,126	Perth
21	Hornsby Shire, New South Wales [65]	144,692	Sydney
22	City of Onkaparinga, South Australia [66]	144,407	Adelaide
23	City of Parramatta, New South Wales [67]	143,143	Sydney
24	City of Newcastle, New South Wales [68]	141,753	Newcastle
25	Baulkham Hills Shire, New South Wales [69]	138,420	Sydney

In comparison with these figures, the populations of the other capitals are relatively small. Darwin has 66,291, Melbourne 71,380, Hobart 47,700, Adelaide 16,660, and Perth only 11,573. Most of these cities have suburban LGAs much larger than the central cities.

See also

• List of cities in Australia
• World largest cities