New South Wales suburbs people moved to from the city

Googong tops the ranking: 32.6% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Canberra. Renwick and Murrumbateman follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 568 eligible New South Wales suburbs.

This page ranks New South Wales 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.

New South Wales 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

Googong

NSW 2620 · 7,444 residents

32.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 2,131 residents

B 100.0
2

Renwick

NSW 2575 · 1,453 residents

26.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 344 residents

A 99.8
3

Murrumbateman

NSW 2582 · 3,607 residents

25.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 869 residents

A 99.7
4

Burradoo

NSW 2576 · 2,879 residents

21.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 596 residents

A 99.5
5

Gundaroo

NSW 2620 · 1,233 residents

20.3% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 235 residents

B 99.3
6

Hill Top

NSW 2575 · 2,792 residents

19.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 494 residents

B 99.1
7

Exeter

NSW 2579 · 1,087 residents

19.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 198 residents

C 98.9
8

Gosford

NSW 2250 · 4,873 residents

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

C 98.8
9

Bangalow

NSW 2479 · 2,752 residents

18.8% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 480 residents

B 98.6
10

Queanbeyan East

NSW 2620 · 4,240 residents

18.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 728 residents

C 98.4
11

Bywong

NSW 2621 · 1,342 residents

18.1% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 236 residents

B 98.2
12

Pokolbin

NSW 2320 · 1,049 residents

17.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 183 residents

C 98.1
13

Bungendore

NSW 2621 · 4,745 residents

17.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 775 residents

C 97.9
14

Jindabyne

NSW 2627 · 2,986 residents

17.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 510 residents

D 97.7
15

Sutton

NSW 2620 · 1,556 residents

17.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Canberra · 258 residents

C 97.5

Ranked from 568 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 New South Wales'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 new South Wales suburbs people moved to from the city?

Googong tops the ranking: 32.6% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Canberra. Renwick and Murrumbateman follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 568 eligible New South Wales suburbs.

How is this ranking put together?

Each New South Wales 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 states

Related

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

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