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Cities in Australia Ranked by Population (city proper)

Population of the city proper (the municipality itself, not the metro area), using the most recent figure recorded in Wikidata. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Sydney ranks #1 with 5.45 million people (2023). Melbourne is second with 5.35 million people, 1.9% behind. The top five are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The median across all 28 is 143,340 people; Orange is last at 41,232 people.

#1
Sydney · 5.45 million people
Median
143,340 people
Coverage
28 cities in Australia
Data year
As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: PopulationBar chart of the top 10: 1. Sydney 5.45 million; 2. Melbourne 5.35 million; 3. Brisbane 2.71 million; 4. Perth 2.14 million; 5. Adelaide 1.39 million; 6. Gold Coast 607,665; 7. Canberra 381,488; 8. Wollongong 261,896; 9. Ipswich 232,930; 10. Hobart 197,451.Sydney5.45 millionMelbourne5.35 millionBrisbane2.71 millionPerth2.14 millionAdelaide1.39 millionGold Coast607,665Canberra381,488Wollongong261,896Ipswich232,930Hobart197,451
Top 10: Population (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Sydney 5.45 million; 2. Melbourne 5.35 million; 3. Brisbane 2.71 million; 4. Perth 2.14 million; 5. Adelaide 1.39 million; 6. Gold Coast 607,665; 7. Canberra 381,488; 8. Wollongong 261,896; 9. Ipswich 232,930; 10. Hobart 197,451.

Full ranking

Cities in Australia Ranked by Population (city proper)
RankCityCountryPopulation (people)Year
1SydneyAustralia5,450,4962023
2MelbourneAustralia5,350,7052024
3BrisbaneAustralia2,706,9662023
4PerthAustralia2,141,8342021
5AdelaideAustralia1,387,2902021
6Gold CoastAustralia607,6652021
7CanberraAustralia381,4882014
8WollongongAustralia261,8962016
9IpswichAustralia232,9302021
10HobartAustralia197,4512021
11GeelongAustralia180,2392021
12TownsvilleAustralia173,7242021
13NewcastleAustralia152,9842016
14CairnsAustralia146,7782014
15DarwinAustralia139,9022021
16BallaratAustralia116,2012021
17ToowoombaAustralia108,3982021
18BendigoAustralia103,0342021
19LauncestonAustralia80,9432021
20MackayAustralia80,4552021
21BunburyAustralia75,1962021
22BundabergAustralia70,5402014
23RockhamptonAustralia63,1512021
24Hervey BayAustralia57,7222021
25PakenhamAustralia54,1182021
26Wagga WaggaAustralia49,6862021
27Port MacquarieAustralia44,8302016
28OrangeAustralia41,2322021

About the top 10

#6 Gold Coast

Gold Coast ranks #6 on this list with 607,665 people (2021).

Country
Australia
Population
607,665 people (2021)
Area
1,402 km²
Density
433 people per km²
Elevation
12 m
Founded
1958
Coordinates
28.02° S, 153.40° E

Full city profile

#7 Canberra

Canberra ranks #7 on this list with 381,488 people (2014).

Country
Australia
Population
381,488 people (2014)
Area
471.8 km²
Density
809 people per km²
Elevation
578 m
Founded
1913
Coordinates
35.29° S, 149.13° E

Full city profile

#8 Wollongong

Wollongong ranks #8 on this list with 261,896 people (2016).

Country
Australia
Population
261,896 people (2016)
Area
684 km²
Density
383 people per km²
Elevation
5 m
Founded
1834
Coordinates
34.43° S, 150.88° E

Full city profile

#9 Ipswich

Ipswich ranks #9 on this list with 232,930 people (2021).

Country
Australia
Population
232,930 people (2021)
Area
1,090 km²
Density
214 people per km²
Elevation
50 m
Founded
1846
Coordinates
27.62° S, 152.77° E

Full city profile

#10 Hobart

Hobart ranks #10 on this list with 197,451 people (2021).

Country
Australia
Population
197,451 people (2021)
Area
1,357 km²
Density
145 people per km²
Elevation
54 m
Founded
1803
Coordinates
42.88° S, 147.32° E

Full city profile

Profile facts: Wikidata (CC0).

Related rankings

Source and method

Population of the city proper (the municipality itself, not the metro area), using the most recent figure recorded in Wikidata.

Source: Wikidata. Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain). Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

Data: Wikidata (CC0)

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: Wikidata. All licences: Sources & licences.