The largest cities of Australia: urban units, municipalities and metro areas
Australia counted three ways: by continuous built-up area, by municipality and by metro area. 19 urban units pass 100,000 people; the largest is Sydney, with 4,698,656. The city of Sydney has 5,638,830 people within its limits; its urban unit, 4,698,656; its metro area, 5,053,153.
How Australia counts its cities
The Australian Bureau of Statistics groups urban areas into urban centres and localities. A centre that crosses a state border is split at the border: Gold Coast – Tweed Heads appears as its Queensland part and its New South Wales part.
The 25 largest urban units
Source: ABS, urban centres and localities, 2021 census.
| # | Urban unit | People | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 4,698,656 | 2,194 |
| 2 | Melbourne | 4,585,537 | 2,881 |
| 3 | Brisbane | 2,287,896 | 2,027 |
| 4 | Perth (WA) | 2,043,762 | 1,720 |
| 5 | Adelaide | 1,245,011 | 854 |
| 6 | Gold Coast-Tweed Heads (Gold Coast Part) | 607,665 | 553 |
| 7 | Canberra-Queanbeyan (Canberra Part) | 452,670 | 393 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 348,539 | 297 |
| 9 | Central Coast | 325,255 | 333 |
| 10 | Sunshine Coast | 284,131 | 369 |
| 11 | Wollongong | 280,153 | 224 |
| 12 | Hobart | 197,451 | 237 |
| 13 | Geelong | 180,239 | 166 |
| 14 | Townsville | 173,724 | 266 |
| 15 | Cairns | 153,181 | 199 |
| 16 | Darwin | 122,207 | 240 |
| 17 | Toowoomba | 108,398 | 120 |
| 18 | Ballarat | 105,348 | 132 |
| 19 | Bendigo | 100,649 | 162 |
| 20 | Maitland (NSW) | 89,597 | 123 |
| 21 | Launceston | 80,943 | 95 |
| 22 | Mackay | 80,455 | 136 |
| 23 | Melton | 76,346 | 57 |
| 24 | Bunbury | 75,196 | 117 |
| 25 | Gold Coast-Tweed Heads (Tweed Heads Part) | 63,721 | 68 |
The 10 largest municipalities and metro areas
| # | Municipality | People | Metro area | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 5,638,830 | Melbourne | 5,567,711 |
| 2 | Melbourne | 5,435,590 | Sydney | 5,053,153 |
| 3 | Brisbane | 2,780,063 | Brisbane | 2,470,953 |
| 4 | Perth | 2,384,371 | Perth | 1,850,499 |
| 5 | Adelaide | 1,469,163 | Adelaide | 1,441,468 |
| 6 | Gold Coast | 640,778 | Gold Coast | 734,639 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 508,437 | Newcastle | 543,281 |
| 8 | Sunshine Coast | 398,840 | Sunshine Coast | 325,753 |
| 9 | Canberra | 367,752 | Wollongong | 317,350 |
| 10 | Central Coast | 346,596 | Geelong | 298,392 |
Municipalities: GeoNames, latest census or estimate. Metro areas: GHSL functional urban areas. Metro areas are named after their main municipality, which is not always the best-known name of the area.
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