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Australia Map – Cities & Towns [AU]

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    Australia Map Reference

    Australia Map – Cities & Towns [AU]

    Australia’s urban network is concentrated along the eastern, south-eastern and south-western coasts, while inland and northern centres are separated by very long distances. The map combines the national capital, state and territory capitals, major metropolitan corridors, regional cities and selected remote service centres. Population values use Australian Bureau of Statistics urban-area estimates for 30 June 2025 where available. These figures describe statistical urban areas rather than city council boundaries, so they should not be compared with municipal populations from another dataset.

    CapitalCanberra
    ISO CodeAU
    Federal Units6 states and 2 self-governing territories
    National Population27,801,023 at 31 December 2025
    Interactive Australia Cities and Towns Map

    The national view marks 30 selected urban centres. Capital areas and large coastal corridors appear beside inland and remote centres that help explain the scale of the country. Use the map search to locate a place, then compare it with the searchable table.

    National Capital Region State and Territory Capitals Metropolitan Areas Regional Cities Remote Centres
    Map scale note: marker positions use representative centre coordinates. They do not show the full boundary of an ABS urban area, a local government area or a suburb.

    City, Town and Locality Labels in Australia

    Australia does not use one national legal definition of a town. The Australian Bureau of Statistics separates built-up settlement geography from local government and official place-name geography. A place may therefore be called a city in everyday use while its population is measured through an urban-area boundary that extends across several councils or even a state border.

    Urban Centre or Locality

    The ABS UCL geography represents built-up cities and towns with populations above 200 people when density or urban-infrastructure rules are met. Some smaller settlements are outside this classification.

    SUA Urban Area

    SUA geography groups an urban centre, or related urban centres, with a core population above 10,000. It supports annual estimated resident population data and is used for the main city ranking on this page.

    Greater Capital City Area

    GCCSA boundaries represent the wider functional region of each state or territory capital. They are broader than the continuously built-up urban area and are used for the capital growth chart.

    Official Locality

    Approved place names and locality boundaries come from state, territory and Commonwealth naming authorities. A locality is not automatically a municipality or an ABS urban area.

    Population boundary warning: “Sydney,” “City of Sydney,” “Greater Sydney” and the Sydney SUA refer to different areas. The same boundary type must be used when places are ranked or compared.

    Why Australia’s City Labels Cluster Near the Coast

    Eastern and South-Eastern Seaboard

    New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory held almost 80% of Australian residents in the 2021 Census. This produces a dense chain of labels from south-east Queensland through Sydney and Canberra to Melbourne.

    South-Western Concentration

    Perth dominates Western Australia’s urban pattern. Bunbury and Busselton extend the south-western settlement belt, while Geraldton, the Pilbara ports, Kalgoorlie–Boulder and Broome sit far apart.

    Northern and Inland Centres

    Darwin, Alice Springs, Mount Isa, Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie–Boulder matter on a national map because each serves a very large surrounding area, even though their populations are smaller than coastal metropolitan centres.

    Tasmanian Pattern

    Hobart anchors the south-east, Launceston the north, and the Burnie–Devonport–Ulverstone chain the north-west coast. Tasmania needs a closer map scale because its centres appear compressed on a mainland-wide view.

    The 2021 Census placed 66.9% of residents in Greater Capital City Statistical Areas and 33.1% in the rest of Australia. This split is based on capital-region boundaries, not only the visible built-up city.
    Largest Australian Urban Areas by 2025 ERP
    ABS preliminary estimated resident population at 30 June 2025, using SUA geography.

    Why Melbourne and Sydney Can Change Order Between Datasets

    The 2025 SUA estimates place Melbourne above Sydney because the chart measures built-up urban areas using one ABS geography. The wider GCCSA measure places Sydney at 5,638,830 and Melbourne at 5,435,590 on 30 June 2025. Neither result is an error: the boundary purpose is different. SUA is suited to comparing urbanised areas, while GCCSA is suited to the wider labour-market and service region of a capital city.

    Searchable Australian Cities and Towns Table

    The table contains 35 selected urban areas that explain the national settlement pattern. Population is preliminary 2025 ERP for the named SUA. Coordinates identify a representative city centre and are rounded for general map reference.

    Place State or Territory Map Category Region 2025 SUA Population Latitude Longitude Map Role
    Melbourne Victoria State capital urban area South-east coast 5,328,274 -37.8136 144.9631 Large built-up area on Port Phillip and the main Victorian urban anchor.
    Sydney New South Wales State capital urban area East coast 5,219,674 -33.8688 151.2093 Harbour metropolis anchoring the central New South Wales coast.
    Brisbane Queensland State capital urban area South-east Queensland 2,745,086 -27.4698 153.0251 Northern anchor of the Brisbane–Gold Coast–Sunshine Coast corridor.
    Perth Western Australia State capital urban area South-west coast 2,430,757 -31.9523 115.8613 Dominant west-coast metropolis, separated from the eastern city network.
    Adelaide South Australia State capital urban area Gulf St Vincent 1,470,938 -34.9285 138.6007 Main South Australian urban concentration between the gulf and Mount Lofty Ranges.
    Gold Coast–Tweed Heads Queensland / New South Wales Cross-border metropolitan area South-east coast 761,634 -28.0167 153.4000 Continuous coastal urban area crossing the Queensland–New South Wales border.
    Newcastle–Maitland New South Wales Regional metropolitan area Hunter 541,634 -32.9283 151.7817 Major Hunter region urban system north of Sydney.
    Canberra–Queanbeyan ACT / New South Wales National capital urban area South-east inland 521,049 -35.2809 149.1300 National capital region extending across the ACT–New South Wales boundary.
    Sunshine Coast Queensland Coastal metropolitan area South-east Queensland 424,741 -26.6500 153.0667 Multi-centre coastal area north of Brisbane.
    Central Coast New South Wales Coastal metropolitan area Central New South Wales coast 354,189 -33.4267 151.3417 Urban link between Sydney and Newcastle.
    Wollongong New South Wales Regional metropolitan area Illawarra 322,343 -34.4278 150.8931 Coastal urban centre south of Sydney below the Illawarra escarpment.
    Geelong Victoria Regional metropolitan area Port Phillip west 314,381 -38.1499 144.3617 Large Victorian regional city southwest of Melbourne.
    Hobart Tasmania State capital urban area South-east Tasmania 233,736 -42.8821 147.3272 Tasmania’s capital area around the Derwent estuary.
    Townsville Queensland Regional city North Queensland coast 190,551 -19.2589 146.8169 Large northern coastal service centre.
    Cairns Queensland Regional city Far North Queensland 164,149 -16.9186 145.7781 Far-northern coastal urban centre between the ranges and the Coral Sea.
    Toowoomba Queensland Inland regional city Darling Downs 153,781 -27.5598 151.9507 Inland city west of the Great Dividing Range near south-east Queensland.
    Darwin Northern Territory Territory capital urban area Top End 145,019 -12.4634 130.8456 Northern Territory capital and the main Top End urban area.
    Ballarat Victoria Inland regional city Central Highlands 120,939 -37.5622 143.8503 Large inland Victorian centre west of Melbourne.
    Bendigo Victoria Inland regional city North-central Victoria 106,493 -36.7570 144.2794 North-central Victorian city on routes toward the Murray region.
    Albury–Wodonga New South Wales / Victoria Cross-border regional city Murray corridor 102,435 -36.1000 146.9000 Twin-city urban area spanning the New South Wales–Victoria border.
    Launceston Tasmania Regional city Northern Tasmania 92,993 -41.4332 147.1441 Northern Tasmania’s main urban centre.
    Mackay Queensland Regional city Central Queensland coast 89,761 -21.1411 149.1860 Coastal centre between Rockhampton and Townsville.
    Bunbury Western Australia Regional city South West 84,332 -33.3271 115.6414 Largest regional urban area in south-west Western Australia outside Perth.
    Rockhampton Queensland Regional city Central Queensland 83,508 -23.3790 150.5100 Central Queensland hub near the Fitzroy River and coast.
    Wagga Wagga New South Wales Inland regional city Riverina 58,117 -35.1082 147.3598 Large Riverina centre on the inland Sydney–Melbourne route network.
    Shepparton–Mooroopna Victoria Inland regional urban area Goulburn Valley 55,332 -36.3833 145.4000 Paired urban area in the Goulburn Valley.
    Mildura–Buronga Victoria / New South Wales Cross-border regional urban area Lower Murray 54,379 -34.2080 142.1246 Lower Murray urban area spanning the state boundary.
    Dubbo New South Wales Inland regional city Central West 42,452 -32.2569 148.6011 Central-west service centre for a wide inland catchment.
    Kalgoorlie–Boulder Western Australia Remote inland city Goldfields 31,016 -30.7489 121.4658 Remote inland city linking the Goldfields to Perth and eastern routes.
    Alice Springs Northern Territory Remote service centre Central Australia 30,875 -23.6980 133.8807 Central Australian service centre far from coastal capitals.
    Karratha Western Australia Remote regional centre Pilbara 19,659 -20.7367 116.8463 Pilbara regional centre on the north-west coast.
    Mount Isa Queensland Remote inland city North-west Queensland 18,162 -20.7256 139.4927 Remote inland service and resource city near Queensland’s western border.
    Broken Hill New South Wales Remote inland city Far West 17,515 -31.9539 141.4539 Far-west New South Wales centre closer to Adelaide than Sydney.
    Port Hedland Western Australia Remote port centre Pilbara 17,300 -20.3107 118.6011 Pilbara port urban area on the north-west coast.
    Broome Western Australia Remote regional centre Kimberley coast 16,506 -17.9614 122.2359 Kimberley coastal centre separated by long distances from Perth and Darwin.

    States, Territories and Their Urban Anchors

    Code State or Territory Capital Main Urban Pattern Selected Regional Anchors
    NSWNew South WalesSydneySydney–Central Coast–Newcastle and Sydney–Wollongong coastal corridors, with a broad inland city network.Newcastle, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Broken Hill
    VICVictoriaMelbourneStrong concentration around Port Phillip, supported by large inland and western regional cities.Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton–Mooroopna, Mildura
    QLDQueenslandBrisbaneSouth-east metropolitan corridor and a long chain of coastal centres extending north to Cairns.Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville, Cairns, Mount Isa
    SASouth AustraliaAdelaideHeavy concentration around Gulf St Vincent, with smaller port, agricultural and remote northern centres.Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Murray Bridge
    WAWestern AustraliaPerthPerth-centred south-west, plus widely spaced coastal ports and inland resource centres.Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie–Boulder, Karratha, Port Hedland, Broome
    TASTasmaniaHobartHobart in the south-east, Launceston in the north and a linked north-west coastal chain.Launceston, Devonport, Burnie–Somerset, Ulverstone
    NTNorthern TerritoryDarwinDarwin–Palmerston in the Top End, with small centres spread along very long inland routes.Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek
    ACTAustralian Capital TerritoryCanberraPlanned town-centre system forming a cross-border urban area with Queanbeyan in New South Wales.Belconnen, Gungahlin, Woden, Tuggeranong, Queanbeyan
    The ABS also uses the statistical category “Other Territories” for Jervis Bay Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island. It is separate from the six states and two self-governing internal territories listed in the hero.
    Capital City Growth Rates, 2024–25
    ABS GCCSA population change. Perth recorded the highest rate; Melbourne recorded the largest numerical increase.

    Capital City Scale and Recent Growth

    Sydney

    Greater Sydney reached 5,638,830 people on 30 June 2025, an annual increase of 75,230. Its functional capital region remains larger than Greater Melbourne even though the SUA ranking reverses their order.

    Melbourne

    Greater Melbourne reached 5,435,590 and added 105,030 people during 2024–25, the largest numerical gain among the capitals.

    Brisbane and Perth

    Greater Brisbane reached 2,833,524 and grew by 2.1%. Greater Perth reached 2,452,765 and had the highest capital growth rate at 2.4%.

    Smaller Capitals

    Greater Adelaide reached 1,491,015, Canberra 484,630, Hobart 255,250 and Darwin 159,284. Their map footprints, commuting regions and built-up populations are not interchangeable.

    Remote Centres That Organise the National Map

    Central Australia

    Alice Springs is the main inland reference point between the southern capitals and Darwin. Its isolation makes it more prominent on a national map than population rank alone suggests.

    Pilbara Coast

    Karratha and Port Hedland form separate urban centres along Western Australia’s north-west coast. Both are far from Perth and from the Kimberley centre of Broome.

    Interior Resource Cities

    Kalgoorlie–Boulder, Mount Isa and Broken Hill anchor large inland areas. Their surrounding settlement networks are sparse, so the distance to the next major centre is an essential map cue.

    Kimberley Coast

    Broome is a small urban area by national standards but an important geographic label between the Pilbara and the Northern Territory border region.

    Distance Cues Across the Australia Map

    These approximate straight-line distances use the representative centre coordinates shown in the table. Road distance is longer and may follow a very different route.

    Perth–Sydneyabout 3,290 km
    Brisbane–Cairnsabout 1,390 km
    Darwin–Alice Springsabout 1,290 km
    Hobart–Launcestonabout 162 km
    The national map compresses distances across the interior. Two labels that appear close at country scale may still be separated by more than a full day of overland travel.

    Place Names, Dual Names and Cross-Border Urban Areas

    Approved Place Names

    The Composite Gazetteer of Australia combines approved names supplied by state, territory and Commonwealth naming authorities. It is the preferred reference for spelling and representative coordinates.

    Dual Naming

    Where a jurisdiction has adopted an official dual name, the approved form should be preserved. Informal alternatives should not replace the gazetted name in map labels.

    Repeated Names

    Names such as Richmond occur in several states. Search results should therefore include the state or territory code, not only the place name.

    Cross-Border Areas

    Gold Coast–Tweed Heads, Canberra–Queanbeyan, Albury–Wodonga and Mildura–Buronga show why a statistical urban area may cross a state boundary.

    Map Data Notes

    What Is Reliable

    • Capital, state and territory names follow Australian Government and ABS usage.
    • National population is the ABS estimate for 31 December 2025.
    • Urban-area populations are ABS ERP values for 30 June 2025.
    • Capital growth uses GCCSA geography for the 2024–25 financial year.
    • Approved place-name spelling is supported by the Composite Gazetteer of Australia.

    What May Vary

    • 2025 SUA estimates are preliminary and may be revised.
    • City, council, suburb, locality, UCL, SUA and GCCSA boundaries measure different areas.
    • Small towns under 200 people may not appear as UCLs.
    • Representative coordinates are suitable for general reference, not navigation or boundary work.
    • The map shows selected centres rather than every Australian locality.
    Best use of this map: locating major cities, comparing urban-area scale, identifying regional clusters and understanding why inland centres carry more geographic weight than their population rank suggests.

    Sources

    Australia Cities and Towns Map FAQ

    What is the capital of Australia?

    Canberra is the national capital. Its urban area forms a cross-border system with Queanbeyan in New South Wales.

    What are the largest urban areas in Australia?

    Using 2025 ABS SUA estimates, Melbourne and Sydney are the two largest, followed by Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Using wider GCCSA boundaries, Sydney is larger than Melbourne.

    Does Australia have an official national definition of a town?

    No. The ABS does not explicitly define towns. UCL geography approximates built-up settlements above 200 people, while official localities come from jurisdictional naming systems.

    Why are most major Australian cities near the coast?

    The largest population concentrations are on the eastern, south-eastern and south-western margins. Inland Australia has a much sparser network of towns and regional service centres.

    Why do Australian city population figures differ?

    Figures may refer to a council, suburb, built-up urban area, SUA or GCCSA. Census counts and annual resident estimates also use different dates and methods.

    Are all Australian towns shown on the map?

    No. The interactive layer marks 30 centres and the table lists 35 urban areas. Australia has thousands of official localities, many of which require state-level or local-scale mapping.