Central Coast suburbs people moved to from the city

Gosford tops the ranking: 18.9% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney. Ettalong Beach and Booker Bay follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 74 eligible Central Coast suburbs.

This page ranks Central Coast suburbs by the share of residents aged five and over who lived in a capital city five years before the 2021 Census. Suburbs inside the capitals are not ranked, and only suburbs with at least 1,000 residents qualify.

These are the places people from the capitals moved to between 2016 and 2021, and each row names the capital most of them came from. It counts arrivals only: people who moved the other way are not in it, so a suburb near the top is not necessarily growing. Not every move is a sea change or a tree change: mining towns and Defence bases rank high because jobs bring people there. The Central Coast is part of Greater Sydney in the ABS geography; we count it as a place of its own, so moves from the Central Coast are not moves from Sydney. Source: ABS 2021 Census, via TableBuilder.

Central Coast suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city

Ranked by the share of residents aged five and over who lived in a capital city five years before the 2021 Census, among suburbs outside the capitals with at least 1,000 residents. It counts arrivals only: people who moved the other way are not in it.

1

Gosford

NSW 2250 · 4,873 residents

18.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 877 residents

C 100.0
2

Ettalong Beach

NSW 2257 · 5,161 residents

15.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 737 residents

B 98.6
3

Booker Bay

NSW 2257 · 1,442 residents

14.8% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 202 residents

B 97.3
4

Tascott

NSW 2250 · 1,675 residents

13.8% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 219 residents

C 95.9
5

West Gosford

NSW 2250 · 1,602 residents

13.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 202 residents

D 94.5
6

Copacabana

NSW 2251 · 2,809 residents

12.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 338 residents

B 93.2
7

North Avoca

NSW 2260 · 2,318 residents

12.3% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 268 residents

A 91.8
8

St Huberts Island

NSW 2257 · 1,080 residents

11.8% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 124 residents

B 90.4
9

Blackwall

NSW 2256 · 1,941 residents

11.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 215 residents

B 89.0
10

Avoca Beach

NSW 2251 · 4,708 residents

11.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 515 residents

B 87.7
11

Umina Beach

NSW 2257 · 17,372 residents

11.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 1,879 residents

C 86.3
12

The Entrance

NSW 2261 · 4,244 residents

11.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 468 residents

C 84.9
13

Macmasters Beach

NSW 2251 · 1,399 residents

11.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 153 residents

B 83.6
14

North Gosford

NSW 2250 · 3,986 residents

11.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 426 residents

C 82.2
15

Point Clare

NSW 2250 · 3,974 residents

11.3% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 425 residents

C 80.8

Ranked from 74 qualifying suburbs.

How we ranked these

100% share of residents aged five and over who lived in one of the eight capital cities five years before the 2021 Census, percentile-ranked within Central Coast's candidate pool. Suburbs that touch a capital's statistical area are not ranked, because the count for their own area includes people who never moved. The Central Coast counts as a place of its own, not as Sydney. Only suburbs with at least 1,000 residents qualify, and the larger number of arrivals breaks ties. It counts arrivals, not net migration. Source: ABS 2021 Census, via TableBuilder; the ABS adjusts small counts slightly to protect privacy. See how we calculate for the full methodology.

Common questions about this ranking

What are the central Coast suburbs people moved to from the city?

Gosford tops the ranking: 18.9% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney. Ettalong Beach and Booker Bay follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 74 eligible Central Coast suburbs.

How is this ranking put together?

Each Central Coast suburb is ranked by the share of its residents aged five and over who lived in one of the eight capital cities five years before the 2021 Census. Suburbs inside the capitals are not ranked, and only suburbs with at least 1,000 residents are included.

Does this show where people are leaving?

No. It counts people who arrived from a capital, not people who left the suburb. A place near the top can have lost as many residents as it gained, so it is not a measure of growth.

Why are some suburbs near a capital missing?

A suburb that touches a capital's statistical area is left out: the Census count for its own area includes people who never moved, so a share would overstate the arrivals.

How current is it?

It covers moves between August 2016 and August 2021, from the 2021 Census, the most recent available until results from the August 2026 Census are released in 2027.

Same list in other cities

Related

Rankings last computed 28 September 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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