Australia's cities at a glance
Dots sized by population · Sydney in orange
Australia has 5 cities with more than a million inhabitants and 21 with more than 100,000 (city-proper figures). The largest is Sydney with 5,638,830 people, followed by Melbourne (5,435,590) and Brisbane (2,780,063). The three largest cities together hold about 50.7% of the country's 27.3 million people.
The capital, Canberra, is the 9th largest city with 367,752 people — Sydney is 15.3× larger.
By region, the most large cities are in Queensland (11), New South Wales (6), Victoria (4).
Country-level figures — live population, births and deaths, growth, density and history — are on the Australia population page; provinces, terrain, rivers and society maps are in the Australia atlas.
Australia cities by population
| # | City | Region | Population | Share of Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | New South Wales | 5,638,830 | 20.7% |
| 2 | Melbourne | Victoria | 5,435,590 | 19.9% |
| 3 | Brisbane | Queensland | 2,780,063 | 10.2% |
| 4 | Perth | Western Australia | 2,384,371 | 8.7% |
| 5 | Adelaide | South Australia | 1,469,163 | 5.4% |
| 6 | Gold Coast | Queensland | 640,778 | 2.3% |
| 7 | Newcastle | New South Wales | 508,437 | 1.9% |
| 8 | Sunshine Coast | Queensland | 398,840 | 1.5% |
| 9 | CanberraCapital | Australian Capital Territory | 367,752 | 1.3% |
| 10 | Central Coast | New South Wales | 346,596 | 1.3% |
| 11 | Logan City | Queensland | 345,098 | 1.3% |
| 12 | Geelong | Victoria | 282,809 | 1% |
| 13 | Wollongong | New South Wales | 280,153 | 1% |
| 14 | Hobart | Tasmania | 254,930 | 0.9% |
| 15 | Townsville | Queensland | 201,313 | 0.7% |
| 16 | Cairns | Queensland | 153,075 | 0.6% |
| 17 | Toowoomba | Queensland | 142,163 | 0.5% |
| 18 | Darwin | Northern Territory | 139,902 | 0.5% |
| 19 | Ballarat | Victoria | 111,973 | 0.4% |
| 20 | Mandurah | Western Australia | 107,643 | 0.4% |
| 21 | Bendigo | Victoria | 103,034 | 0.4% |
| 22 | Caloundra | Queensland | 96,305 | 0.4% |
| 23 | Launceston | Tasmania | 90,953 | 0.3% |
| 24 | Maitland | New South Wales | 89,597 | 0.3% |
| 25 | Tuggeranong | Australian Capital Territory | 89,461 | 0.3% |
| 26 | Mackay | Queensland | 84,333 | 0.3% |
| 27 | Rockhampton | Queensland | 81,021 | 0.3% |
| 28 | Coffs Harbour | New South Wales | 78,759 | 0.3% |
| 29 | Bunbury | Western Australia | 76,452 | 0.3% |
| 30 | Bundaberg | Queensland | 73,747 | 0.3% |
Cities with 300,000 or more people link to their own page. The list keeps every city of 100,000+ and at least the 30 largest places of the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest city in Australia?
Sydney, with about 5,638,830 inhabitants (city proper). It is larger than the capital, Canberra (367,752).
What is the capital of Australia?
Canberra — population 367,752, the 9th largest city in the country.
How many cities in Australia have over one million people?
5: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide.
Are these metropolitan-area populations?
No. They are city-proper figures (the administrative city) from GeoNames, based on the latest census or official estimate. Metropolitan areas, which include suburbs and satellite towns, are larger — often several times larger for the biggest cities.
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SamoaCite or link to this page
Glostats. (2026). Largest Cities in Australia 2026: Population Ranking. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/australia/<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/australia/">Largest Cities in Australia 2026: Population Ranking</a> — GlostatsFigures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.
City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.