> Source: https://www.k-stra.com/insights/fastest-growing-councils-australia/ > Updated: 2026-11-03 Insights · Population growth # Which Australian councils are growing fastest? A national ranking of the 231 Australian councils with more than 20,000 residents by how fast their population grew, and by how many people they added, from the ABS estimates for each year. In short Among Australian councils with more than 20,000 residents, Melton in Victoria and Camden in New South Wales grew fastest from 2019 to 2025, both by 39.9% in six years, on average 6.65% a year, against 1.50% a year for Australia. Thirteen of the 15 fastest are in a capital city area, and eight of those 15 are in Western Australia. [Open Melton on the map](https://www.k-stra.com/a/?mv=144.626,-37.693,9.3,0,0&src=insights-fastest-growing-councils-australia) The ranking ## Which councils grew fastest between 2019 and 2025? *[Image: K-Stra free area dashboard for the City of Melton, Victoria: 231,567 residents, median age 33.3 and population growth of 39.9% from 2019 to 2025, on average 6.65% a year.]* Free area dashboard · Melton Melton: 39.9% since 2019The free dashboard of the council, opened by clicking its name on the map. No account needed. Melton, west of Melbourne, and Camden, south-west of Sydney, share first place: 66,032 and 41,777 new residents in six years. Their growth is the outer suburb kind, where farmland becomes housing estates and whole new neighbourhoods fill within a few years. Perth dominates the list in a way the national totals hide. Eight of the 15 fastest councils are in Western Australia, from Serpentine-Jarrahdale and Kwinana on the southern fringe to Swan and Armadale on the eastern one. Two of the fastest councils are city centres, not suburbs: the City of Perth in the top 15 and, a few places lower, the City of Adelaide. Apartment building in a small area with few residents produces a high percentage from a modest number of people. The 15 Australian councils with more than 20,000 residents that grew fastest from 2019 to 2025 Council State Residents 2025 Added since 2019 Growth 2019–25 Average yearly change Area Melton VIC 231,567 66,032 39.9% 6.65% Capital city Camden NSW 146,483 41,777 39.9% 6.65% Capital city Serpentine-Jarrahdale WA 40,531 9,121 29.0% 4.84% Capital city Kwinana WA 57,422 12,722 28.5% 4.74% Capital city Wyndham VIC 347,830 74,629 27.3% 4.55% Capital city Perth WA 35,673 7,459 26.4% 4.41% Capital city Mitchell VIC 58,459 12,086 26.1% 4.34% Regional Swan WA 187,090 38,418 25.8% 4.31% Capital city Augusta Margaret River WA 20,170 3,935 24.2% 4.04% Regional The Hills NSW 222,675 42,573 23.6% 3.94% Capital city Armadale WA 113,003 21,460 23.4% 3.91% Capital city Mount Barker SA 45,111 8,269 22.4% 3.74% Capital city Ipswich QLD 268,272 48,379 22.0% 3.67% Capital city Cockburn WA 139,499 23,922 20.7% 3.45% Capital city Mandurah WA 106,827 18,129 20.4% 3.41% Capital city Australia 27,613,654 2,278,591 9.0% 1.50% ABS Estimated Resident Population by council at 30 June, 2019 to 2025, on 2025 council boundaries. Average yearly change 2019–2025 worked out as in the K-Stra area dashboard: (2025 ÷ 2019 − 1) ÷ 6 years. Area: “Capital city” when most of the council’s residents live inside the ABS Greater Capital City area. In numbers of people ## Which councils added the most residents? A percentage flatters small councils; for the size of a new market the number of people counts more. Measured that way, Brisbane comes first with 128,168 more residents, growing by only 10.3% in six years, on average 1.71% a year, because it starts from 1,247,133 people. The ten councils that added most people account for 31.2% of Australia’s growth since 2019. Five are in South East Queensland, and Wyndham added more residents than any other suburban council: 74,629. The ten Australian councils that added the most residents from 2019 to 2025 Council State Residents 2019 Residents 2025 Added Growth 2019–25 Average yearly change Brisbane QLD 1,247,133 1,375,301 128,168 10.3% 1.71% Gold Coast QLD 614,435 691,230 76,795 12.5% 2.08% Wyndham VIC 273,201 347,830 74,629 27.3% 4.55% Blacktown NSW 380,186 449,385 69,199 18.2% 3.03% Logan QLD 335,955 403,515 67,560 20.1% 3.35% Melton VIC 165,535 231,567 66,032 39.9% 6.65% Moreton Bay QLD 467,314 532,445 65,131 13.9% 2.32% Casey VIC 352,006 414,929 62,923 17.9% 2.98% Sunshine Coast QLD 329,946 381,957 52,011 15.8% 2.63% Canberra (ACT) ACT 435,730 484,630 48,900 11.2% 1.87% ABS Estimated Resident Population by council at 30 June, 2019 to 2025, on 2025 council boundaries. The ACT is a single area with no councils and appears as Canberra (ACT). The other end ## Which Australian councils lost residents? Only eleven of the 231 councils with more than 20,000 residents have fewer people in 2025 than in 2019. Brimbank, in Melbourne’s west, lost the most: 8,590 residents, a fall of 4.2% in six years, on average 0.69% a year. In Melbourne the loss is mostly the pandemic years: Brimbank had 13,756 fewer residents in 2022 than in 2019 and has regained 5,166 since, and Boroondara and Nillumbik follow the same curve. The others are established Sydney suburbs where little new housing is built, Woollahra and Mosman, and regional towns such as Lithgow, Whyalla and Lismore, the last hit by major floods in 2022. Australian councils with more than 20,000 residents that lost population from 2019 to 2025 Council State Residents 2025 Change since 2019 Change 2019–25 Average yearly change Brimbank VIC 198,181 \-8,590 \-4.2% \-0.69% Woollahra NSW 55,218 \-1,674 \-2.9% \-0.49% Lithgow NSW 20,693 \-523 \-2.5% \-0.41% Mosman NSW 29,374 \-646 \-2.2% \-0.36% Swan Hill VIC 20,962 \-445 \-2.1% \-0.35% Whyalla SA 21,720 \-353 \-1.6% \-0.27% Lismore NSW 43,642 \-592 \-1.3% \-0.22% Nillumbik VIC 63,797 \-667 \-1.0% \-0.17% Boroondara VIC 178,601 \-1,062 \-0.6% \-0.10% Campaspe VIC 37,954 \-174 \-0.5% \-0.08% Armidale NSW 29,652 \-49 \-0.2% \-0.03% Reading the ranking ## What does fast population growth mean for a business? Growth brings demand that is often not served yet. New estates fill before their shopping centres, clinics and gyms open, so the first years in a fast-growing council often have more residents than local businesses; the gap is measured in a separate article. Two cautions. A council is a large area, and its growth sits in a few new suburbs, not everywhere; and estimates for the most recent year are revised by the ABS once the 2026 Census is counted. Draw the catchment around the actual site before reading anything into the council total. FAQ ## What else do people ask about population growth? ### What is the fastest-growing council in Australia? Among councils with more than 20,000 residents, Melton (VIC) and Camden (NSW), both at 39.9% in six years from 2019 to 2025, on average 6.65% a year. By number of people added, Brisbane, with 128,168. ### Why use councils for a growth ranking? Because councils are the only small areas for which the ABS publishes a population estimate every year. Postcodes and suburbs have exact figures only in Census years. ### Why are councils under 20,000 residents left out? In very small councils a single mine, prison or retirement village can move the percentage by several points. The threshold keeps the ranking about places where a retail or service business could realistically open. ### Can I see the growth of my own catchment? Yes. The free dashboard of every area shows its average yearly change, and a K-Stra catchment analysis adds up residents by drive time from any address. Related pages - [All insights](https://www.k-stra.com/insights/) - [Shops and services in fast-growing councils](https://www.k-stra.com/insights/shops-in-fast-growing-suburbs/) - [Capital cities against regional Australia](https://www.k-stra.com/insights/capital-cities-vs-regional-growth/) - [Victoria in figures](https://www.k-stra.com/australia/victoria/) - [Western Australia in figures](https://www.k-stra.com/australia/western-australia/) - [Market potential analysis](https://www.k-stra.com/solutions/market-potential-analysis/) - [What is a catchment area?](https://www.k-stra.com/geomarketing/catchment-area/) Try it ## Look up any council’s growth for free. Click a council on the map to open its dashboard, then draw the catchment around your own site. [Open the app — free to explore](https://www.k-stra.com/a/?mv=144.626,-37.693,9.3,0,0&src=insights-fastest-growing-councils-australia) Browsing areas and their dashboards is free; you pay only for the analyses you run