Geelong beats Sunshine Coast in the shift from cities to regions

Where would you rather put down roots – Geelong or the Sunshine Coast? Australians fleeing big cities have voted with their suitcases, and the results may surprise.

The Geelong waterfront. Picture: Chris Yeaman

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The drift of Australians from capital cities to regional areas is continuing, with Geelong displacing the Sunshine Coast as the most popular new home for fleeing city slickers.

A “regional movers index”, to be released on Wednesday, shows a 10.5 per cent rise in migration from capital cities to regions in the March quarter of this year, continuing a post-Covid trend.

Issued by the Regional Australia Institute and Commonwealth Bank, the data shows big smoke folk moving to quieter locales ­outnumbered those going in the opposite direction by 25 per cent in the quarter.

One of the surprises of the research, based on relocation data from the bank’s 14.3 million customers, was Geelong replacing the Sunshine Coast as the top ­sea-change destination.

“In a first … greater Geelong has become the star performer due to its idyllic location, established services and range of employment opportunities,” said the bank’s acting regional and agribusiness chief Josh Foster.

“Geelong’s close proximity to Melbourne’s CBD, airports, ports and freeways eases accessibility to and from the region.

“(It also) offers businesses an enticing proposition, enabling them to relocate or scale their ­operations, while benefiting from the area’s growing skilled workforce and its steady dynamic economy.”

The Noosa Waterways, behind Noosa Heads, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, which has been toppled by Geelong as the top destination for city slickers seeking a new regional home.

The home of the Cats attracted a leading 7.4 per cent of net capital city-to-regions migration in the 12 months to March 2025.

Sunshine Coast, which had held the No.1 position for two years, is now the second most popular destination for ex-city folk, with a 7.3 per cent share.

The Gold Coast is third on 4.4 per cent, followed by Lake Macquarie in NSW on 4.3 per cent and Moorabool in Victoria on 3.9 per cent.

“The nation’s love affair with regional living is showing no signs of abating,” said institute chief executive Liz Ritchie.

“Net migration to regional Australia is now sitting 40 per cent higher than the prevailing level in the pre-pandemic era.

“Regional Australia is being reimagined.

“The regions’ enviable lifestyle offerings, buoyant jobs market, position as an economic leader, and variety in communities are proving to be an ongoing lure, particularly for those in metropolitan areas.”

Overall, the index – which aims to guide regional development by detecting early trends – shows net migration to Australia’s regions in the March quarter dropped 7.7 per cent on the previous quarter.

However, this was still 40 per cent higher than the prevailing level pre-Covid.

“Despite migration from regions to capitals returning to pre-Covid levels, ­migration flow from capitals to ­regions remains high, driving overall net migration to regions, and overall regional population growth, higher,” the report states.