Geelong is the top destination in Australia for city dwellers migrating to regional areas
So when a quieter lifestyle calls, where are people choosing to live? Well, it turns out there has been a huge surge in city dwellers opting for Melbourne's smaller sibling, the regional town of Geelong. So much so that the Greater Geelong area has been reported as the top destination in Australia for regional migration from capital cities.
This intel comes from the latest edition of Regional Australia Institute 's quarterly Regional Movers Index (RMI), which in partnership with the Commonwealth Bank, used relocation data from its customer base of 14.3 million people to determine the stats.
The RMI began after a big trend in people moving away from capital cities emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the average level of regional migration since then remaining consistently around 20.5 per cent higher than pre-pandemic times.
Geelong was the most popular place in the country for people wanting a tree change during the 12 months to March 2025, seeing a 116 per cent increase in migration inflow from the same period the previous year.
Other top regions across the country were the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Moorabool in Victoria and Maitland in New South Wales.
The Victorian local government areas of Latrobe in Gippsland and Greater Bendigo were also among popular areas with the biggest growth in migration from capital cities.
This trend isn't going anywhere either – it's still on the up. In the first quarter of 2025, migration from capital cities to regional areas increased by 10.5 per cent. Most of this movement has come from people leaving Sydney and Melbourne. We know there's plenty in the regions for tree-changers to enjoy – from quaint country towns to stunning national parks and heaps more. So for those leaving the concrete jungle behind, there's still plenty to explore.
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