Largest Agglomerations by Population in Australia

102 agglomerations in Australia, ranked by population estimates for June 30, 2025 (by Australian Bureau of Statistics). An agglomeration counts a city together with the built-up suburbs around it, as one place.

Rank	Agglomeration	Population
1	Melbourne, VIC	5,328,274
2	Sydney, NSW	5,219,674
3	Brisbane, QLD	2,745,086
4	Perth, WA	2,430,757
5	Adelaide, SA	1,470,938
6	Gold Coast, QLD- Tweed Heads (NSW)	761,634
7	Newcastle, NSW	541,634
8	Canberra, ACT- Queanbeyan (NSW)	521,049
9	Sunshine Coast, QLDCaloundra - Buderim - Noosa	424,741
10	Central Coast, NSWGosford	354,189
11	Wollongong, NSW	322,343
12	Geelong, VIC	314,381
13	Hobart, TAS	233,736
14	Townsville, QLDincl. Thuringowa	190,551
15	Cairns, QLDincl. Northern Beaches	164,149
16	Toowoomba, QLD	153,781
17	Darwin, NT	145,019
18	Ballarat, VIC	120,939
19	Bendigo, VIC	106,493
20	Albury, NSW- Wodonga (Vic.)	102,435
21	Launceston, TAS	92,993
22	Mackay, QLD	89,761
23	Bunbury, WA	84,332
24	Rockhampton, QLD	83,508
25	Bundaberg, QLD	79,283
26	Coffs Harbour, NSWincl. Sawtell	77,244
27	Hervey Bay, QLD	63,312
28	Wagga Wagga, NSW	58,117
29	Shepparton - Mooroopna, VIC	55,332
30	Mildura, VIC- Buronga (NSW)	54,379
31	Port Macquarie, NSW	53,369
32	Gladstone, QLD	48,505
33	Ballina, NSW	48,465
34	Warragul, VIC	47,510
35	Tamworth, NSW	46,024
36	Busselton, WA	46,023
37	Traralgon, VIC	44,085
38	Orange, NSW	43,213
39	Bowral - Mittagong, NSW	42,529
40	Dubbo, NSW	42,452
41	Geraldton, WA	42,104
42	Nowra - Bomaderry, NSW	40,264
43	Bathurst, NSW	39,013
44	Albany, WA	38,287
45	Warrnambool, VIC	36,689
46	Devonport, TAS	32,938
47	Morisset - Cooranbong, NSW	31,333
48	Kalgoorlie-Boulder, WA	31,016
49	Victor Harbor, SA	30,900
50	Alice Springs, NT	30,875
51	Mount Gambier, SA	30,875
52	Nelson Bay, NSWincl. Corlette	29,024
53	Maryborough, QLD	28,658
54	Burnie, TAS	28,643
55	Lismore, NSW	27,856
56	Bacchus Marsh, VIC	27,182
57	Taree, NSW	26,858
58	Goulburn, NSW	25,647
59	Gympie, QLD	24,591
60	Armidale, NSW	24,436
61	Gisborne, VIC	24,163
62	Echuca, VIC- Moama (NSW)	23,393
63	Moe - Newborough, VIC	22,612
64	Yeppoon, QLD	22,522
65	Whyalla, SA	21,641
66	Forster - Tuncurry, NSW	21,272
67	Griffith, NSW	20,774
68	St Georges Basin - Sanctuary Point, NSW	20,492
69	Wangaratta, VIC	20,019
70	Camden Haven, NSW	19,995
71	Murray Bridge, SA	19,938
72	Grafton, NSW	19,905
73	Karratha, WA	19,659
74	Mount Isa, QLD	18,162
75	Batemans Bay, NSW	17,849
76	Ulladulla, NSW	17,567
77	Broken Hill, NSW	17,515
78	Singleton, NSW	17,396
79	Port Hedland, WA	17,300
80	Medowie, NSW	17,178
81	Port Lincoln, SA	17,064
82	Horsham, VIC	16,882
83	Airlie Beach - Cannonvale, QLD	16,597
84	Broome, WA	16,506
85	Kempsey, NSW	16,272
86	Warwick, QLD	16,197
87	Bairnsdale, VIC	15,917
88	Ulverstone, TAS	15,471
89	Emerald, QLD	15,238
90	Sale, VIC	15,232
91	Port Pirie, SA	14,195
92	Port Augusta, SA	14,134
93	Mudgee, NSW	12,965
94	Muswellbrook, NSW	12,595
95	Esperance, WA	12,580
96	Colac, VIC	12,558
97	Lithgow, NSW	12,124
98	Castlemaine, VIC	11,640
99	Byron Bay, NSW	11,482
100	Portland, VIC	11,124
101	Kingaroy, QLD	11,059
102	Swan Hill, VIC	10,747

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2025 estimate), via City Population by Thomas Brinkhoff.

Why don't these match official city populations?Official figures typically count only the population within administrative boundaries. UN urban area figures cover the entire built-up area, which can include multiple cities and towns.Show moreShow less

Tokyo

33,338,852

Urban area

9,953,160

23 wards

Essen

2,709,375

Urban area

573,618

City of Essen

Ankara

3,630,865

Urban area

5,186,002

Metropolitan municipality

What counts as an urban area? The UN uses satellite imagery to map built-up land, and treats each continuous stretch of built-up land as an urban area. This means that urban areas can extend beyond official city boundaries, and may include multiple cities and towns within a single urban area.

Can an urban area be smaller than its city? Yes. While most cities have urban areas larger than their administrative boundaries, some cities have extensive administrative limits that include sparsely populated areas.

29 urban areas in Australia with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by the UN's population estimates for 2026.

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2026)	Yearly Change	Land Area (km²)	Density (P/km²)	World Rank	Projections (2030)	Projections (2050)
1	Sydney	4,175,163	+0.58%	1,321	3,160	106	4,272,146	4,554,766
2	Melbourne	3,662,000	+0.60%	1,361	2,691	129	3,750,427	4,237,996
3	Perth	1,113,828	+3.09%	576	1,935	467	1,251,644	1,519,791
4	Brisbane	1,079,164	+0.70%	460	2,344	478	1,109,309	1,545,569
5	Adelaide	883,038	+0.43%	430	2,055	595	898,194	1,029,529
6	Point Cook	406,781	+0.56%	122	3,334	1,409	415,903	459,507
7	Gold Coast	308,772	+3.25%	180	1,714	1,886	348,859	552,540
8	Newcastle	184,559	+0.91%	98	1,891	3,306	191,261	201,732
9	Dallas	122,851	+0.95%	41	3,026	5,060	127,533	145,003
10	North Lakes	112,918	+10.02%	41	2,768	5,533	158,128	184,697
11	Wollongong	106,459	+0.42%	57	1,868	5,875	108,265	122,502
12	Hackham West	100,587	+0.76%	60	1,671	6,221	103,657	116,711
13	Campbelltown	98,732	+0.36%	45	2,194	6,338	100,169	107,997
14	Sunshine Coast	91,065	+2.07%	61	1,498	6,896	98,616	114,503
15	Toowoomba	88,951	+1.12%	49	1,801	7,075	92,944	107,518
16	Butler	88,861	+0.67%	31	2,866	7,082	91,235	101,890
17	Cambridge Park	87,516	+0.53%	35	2,486	7,189	89,373	109,432
18	Langwarrin	87,390	+1.31%	52	1,668	7,204	91,964	111,868
19	Redcliffe	84,784	+1.97%	55	1,536	7,447	91,479	105,454
20	Thuringowa Central	82,543	+0.82%	42	1,947	7,665	85,263	109,811
21	Rockingham	80,898	+0.80%	45	1,806	7,802	83,500	99,618
22	Geelong	80,218	+0.41%	53	1,514	7,874	81,533	181,915
23	Wanneroo	78,160	+1.07%	27	2,874	8,090	81,514	109,266
24	Lindum	75,058	+0.99%	33	2,261	8,400	78,029	92,831
25	Melton	67,601	+0.46%	24	2,817	9,280	68,834	80,582
26	The Peninsula	61,828	+1.09%	26	2,360	10,157	64,512	73,964
27	Hobart	60,021	+0.03%	32	1,876	10,428	60,101	62,935
28	Pakenham	56,543	+0.91%	20	2,799	11,028	58,607	63,499
29	Elizabeth North	55,514	+0.46%	26	2,135	11,227	56,530	62,987

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision, Online Edition.

Data topics

Reference

Tools

Largest Agglomerations by Population in Australia

See also