Older Australians are leading the charge out of capital cities, with Sydney, Melbourne and Perth recording the biggest population losses over the past year, new analysis by Downsizing.com.au has found.
Between January and March 2021, there was a net loss of 11,800 people from Australia’s capital cities - the highest figure ever recorded.
An analysis by Downsizing.com.au of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures published in early August shows that people over the age 45 were more likely to be capital city departees, compared to younger age groups.
Across all age groups, there was a 22.7 per cent increase in people departing capital cities for regional areas between the March 2020 and March 2021 quarters.
However, among Australians over 65 the increase over the same period was 51.2 per cent, more than double the increase for all age groups.
For Australians between 45 and 64 there was a 23.95 per cent increase in departures.
Sydney, Melbourne and Perth were the cities with a pronounced outflow of older Australians.
In the March 2021 quarter, 2,422 Australians aged over 65 left Sydney for regional areas - this was a 44 per cent increase on the 1,683 who left in March 2020.
Meanwhile, 2,293 people aged over 65 left Melbourne in the March 2021 quarter. This represented a 67 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2020.
Start your downsizing journey here
If you are looking at moving to a regional area, you've come to the right place. Downsizing.com.au has Australia's best range of over 50s housing options.
You can also learn more about different regional areas across Australia at our new regional locations guide.
Find out more:
Australian Bureau of Statistics internal migration statistics
