Wollongong suburbs people moved to from the city

North Wollongong tops the ranking: 14.1% of its residents lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney. Thirroul and Coledale follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 59 eligible Wollongong suburbs.

This page ranks Wollongong 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.

Wollongong 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.

North Wollongong

NSW 2500 · 2,299 residents

14.1% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 316 residents

C 100.0

Thirroul

NSW 2515 · 6,348 residents

14.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 837 residents

B 98.3

Coledale

NSW 2515 · 1,372 residents

13.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 178 residents

B 96.5

Austinmer

NSW 2515 · 2,725 residents

13.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 344 residents

B 94.8

Stanwell Park

NSW 2508 · 1,532 residents

13.1% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 189 residents

B 93.1

Helensburgh

NSW 2508 · 6,576 residents

12.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 785 residents

B 91.4

Wollongong

NSW 2500 · 20,446 residents

11.9% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 2,344 residents

B 89.7

Kiama

NSW 2533 · 7,904 residents

11.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 873 residents

B 87.9

Bulli

NSW 2516 · 6,798 residents

11.0% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 703 residents

C 86.2

Shell Cove

NSW 2529 · 7,591 residents

10.7% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 764 residents

B 84.5

Calderwood

NSW 2527 · 3,013 residents

9.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 253 residents

B 82.8

Tullimbar

NSW 2527 · 1,840 residents

9.5% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 157 residents

B 81.0

Keiraville

NSW 2500 · 4,001 residents

9.4% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 363 residents

B 79.3

Kembla Grange

NSW 2526 · 1,452 residents

8.8% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 111 residents

B 77.6

Haywards Bay

NSW 2530 · 1,280 residents

8.6% lived in a capital five years earlier · most from Sydney · 102 residents

B 75.9

Ranked from 59 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 Wollongong'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 wollongong suburbs people moved to from the city?

How is this ranking put together?

Each Wollongong 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

Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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Wollongong suburbs people moved to from the city

Wollongong suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city

Common questions about this ranking

Same list in other cities

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