How we rank the fastest-growing suburbs

Data source and population basis

Population comes from the ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2016 and 2021: total persons counted at their place of usual residence on Census night. It's the same population figure the Censible suburb profiles show, rounded to whole people.

These are Census counts, not ABS estimated resident population, so they aren't adjusted for undercount.

Geography and boundaries

A suburb is an ABS Suburb and Locality (SAL) on the 2026 boundaries (ASGS Edition 4), the boundaries the 2026 Census results will use. Both years' counts are carried onto those boundaries with ABS correspondences, so 2016 and 2021 describe the same area.

The capital-city suburbs named on the state lists are those in the state's Greater Capital City Statistical Area (for example, Greater Melbourne).

The estimated flag

Most suburbs kept their boundary. Where a boundary changed, the ABS figure was carried onto the 2026 boundary with ABS correspondences, and the result is marked estimated (*) next to that year's figure. Change and growth for that suburb rest on the estimate.

40 of the 117 suburbs on the lists have at least one estimated figure.

The 1,000-person minimum

Only suburbs with at least 1,000 people in 2016 are ranked. Without a floor, a locality going from 20 to 200 people would top the list at 900% growth. The floor also matches the size at which Censible indexes suburb profiles. 3,826 suburbs met it and had a 2021 figure.

Growth and change

Growth % = (2021 population − 2016 population) ÷ 2016 population × 100, rounded to one decimal place.

Change = 2021 population − 2016 population, in people.

There are two rankings: by growth %, which favours suburbs that started small, and by change, which favours large growth areas. Both use the populations rounded to whole people.

Ties

Suburbs level on the ranking figure (growth % to one decimal place, or change in people) are ordered by the larger 2021 population, then alphabetically. Where the last place on a list is tied, every suburb tied with it is shown, so that list runs one longer. Tied suburbs are marked †.

Exclusions

Left out: suburbs with fewer than 1,000 people in 2016; suburbs without a 2016 or a 2021 figure; the ABS's “No usual address” and “Migratory, offshore and shipping” areas, which aren't places; and the Other Territories (such as Norfolk Island and Christmas Island), which sit outside the eight states and territories. New suburbs that had fewer than 1,000 people in 2016 can't appear, however fast they grew.

National and state lists

The national lists show the top 20 suburbs on each ranking, and each state and territory list the top 10, from the same pool. Every state and territory had at least 10 suburbs that met the rules.

Update schedule

These lists are frozen, so figures quoted from them don't move. The ranking updates with 2026 Census data after the ABS first release in June 2027, at the same addresses. See 2026 Census results for release dates.

Licence and how to cite

The lists and CSV downloads are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. They're based on ABS Census data, © Commonwealth of Australia, also under CC BY 4.0. Credit “Source: ABS Census, compiled by Censible” and link to the ranking.

Censible (2026). Censible Index: Fastest-Growing Suburbs 2016–2021. https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs. Based on ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021 data (CC BY 4.0).