Townsville suburbs people moved to from the city

Murray tops the ranking: 19% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane. Townsville City and Bohle Plains follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 37 eligible Townsville suburbs.

This page ranks Townsville 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.

Townsville 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

Murray

QLD 4814 · 1,739 residents

19.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 330 residents

B 100.0
2

Townsville City

QLD 4810 · 2,945 residents

12.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 366 residents

B 97.2
3

Bohle Plains

QLD 4817 · 3,989 residents

12.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 449 residents

D 94.4
4

Douglas

QLD 4814 · 7,780 residents

11.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 828 residents

B 91.7
5

Idalia

QLD 4811 · 4,563 residents

10.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 438 residents

B 88.9
6

Burdell

QLD 4818 · 7,171 residents

9.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 631 residents

C 86.1
7

North Ward

QLD 4810 · 5,073 residents

9.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 462 residents

B 83.3
8

Oonoonba

QLD 4811 · 2,050 residents

7.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 147 residents

C 80.6
9

Bushland Beach

QLD 4818 · 6,641 residents

7.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 463 residents

B 77.8
10

South Townsville

QLD 4810 · 2,424 residents

6.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 156 residents

C 75.0
11

Belgian Gardens

QLD 4810 · 2,073 residents

6.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 127 residents

C 72.2
12

West End

QLD 4810 · 3,891 residents

6.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 236 residents

C 69.4
13

Annandale

QLD 4814 · 8,376 residents

6.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 495 residents

B 66.7
14

Hermit Park

QLD 4812 · 3,512 residents

5.2% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 173 residents

C 63.9
15

Mount Low

QLD 4818 · 5,488 residents

5.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Brisbane · 244 residents

C 61.1

Ranked from 37 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 Townsville'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 townsville suburbs people moved to from the city?

Murray tops the ranking: 19% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane. Townsville City and Bohle Plains follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 37 eligible Townsville suburbs.

How is this ranking put together?

Each Townsville 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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