They say life only gets better with age – and the golden years prove it. Sure, each birthday might bring a few extra wrinkles or grey hairs, but you grow wiser, tougher, more self-aware and, best of all, you stop caring what others think. So, where are all the oldies at in Australia?
Fresh demographic data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed where Australia’s oldest populations call home – and, for the first time in four years, a new city has been crowned the nation’s capital of wrinkles and wisdom.
Adelaide has held the title of Australia’s oldest capital city every year since 2020 – but in 2024, Hobart out-aged it. Founded in 1804, the Tasmanian capital is actually Australia’s second-oldest city after Sydney, so the crown suits it well.
Hobart’s median age of 39.3 years nudged past Adelaide’s 39.2, with Perth trailing at 37.5. While Hobart replaced Adelaide as the oldest capital city, South Australia remains the oldest state, boasting a median age of 47 compared to Tasmania’s 45.1.
At the other end of the spectrum, Darwin is the youngest Aussie capital, with a median age of 34.8 years – almost five years younger than Hobart. Canberra follows as the second-youngest capital at 35.7 years, with Brisbane at 36.4, Melbourne at 36.6 and Sydney at 36.8 – all still younger than the overall median of 36.9 years for Australia’s capital cities combined.
Beyond the major cities, it’s no surprise that the areas with the biggest population of oldies were all coastal retirement destinations – we’d want to spend our glory years relaxing by the beach too. Tea Gardens in NSW’s Hawks Nest region tops the elderly cities list with a median age of 66.5 years, followed by two low-key Queensland gems: Bribie Island at 63.8 and Cooloola at 62.6.
Flipping the script again, the areas with the youngest median ages cluster around major Australian universities. Leading the pack are Acton (21.1 years) and Duntroon (21.9 years) in Canberra, both home to large student populations from the Australian National University and Royal Military College. Close behind are Clayton North in Victoria (24.2 years), near the main Monash University campus, and St Lucia in Queensland (24.3 years), near the University of Queensland.
Ranked: Australia’s capital cities with the oldest populations
- Hobart – 39.3 years
- Adelaide – 39.2 years
- Perth – 37.5 years
- Sydney – 36.8 years
- Melbourne – 36.6 years
- Brisbane – 36.4 years
- Canberra – 35.7 years
- Darwin – 34.8 years