As a whole, Australia is a pretty desirable place to live – and we’re reminded of that almost every day. Not only do 27 million people choose to call our country home, but more than 7 million flock here just to visit each year. Within the country, however, Aussies are always eyeing up where they’d like to move. If you’re considering a change of scenery or locking down for the long run, a new lifestyle study has revealed the ten best places to live in across the country.
The ranking comes from quantity survey group MCG’s Four-Pillar Lifestyle Index, which analysed every suburb in Australia using SuburbTrends data. The researchers focused on four key lifestyle factors that are considered most popular for Australian homebuyers: beach access, green spaces, urban amenities and community spirit – and measured all against home value growth to determine the best places to live long term.
New South Wales dominated the rankings, home to six of the top ten best places to live in for 2025. Located in Sydney’s dreamy Northern Beaches, the Warringah region – including Manly, Dee Why, Curl Curl and Freshwater – came out on top as the best place to buy a house right now. It’s definitely on the pricier side, with median house prices sitting at $2.56 million – but it offers an unbeatable combo of beaches, nature, accessibility, community spirit and strong home value growth.
Several more affordable areas just outside of Sydney also ranked in the top ten lifestyle locations, including the coastal city of Wollongong in fourth with a median house price of $1.28 million, the gorgeous Shoalhaven region in seventh at $840,000 and NSW's second-most-populous area, Newcastle, in tenth at $960,000.
Western Australia’s laid-back lifestyle proved highly sought after – and more affordable too, with two Perth suburbs ranking in the top five. Just ten kilometres north of Perth’s CBD, Stirling was the second-best lifestyle suburb in Australia, with a median house price of $1.07 million. Meanwhile, the further northern suburb of Wanneroo ranked third, boasting an affordable median price of just $760,000.
That’s the second-lowest median house price of the top ten, just behind Townsville, which beat out all other Queensland regions for lifestyle appeal and price growth potential. In this quiet coastal city, the median price sits at a super affordable $570,000 – exactly half the median price of Queensland’s only other top ten suburb, Southport, which placed ninth. You can check out the full rankings below.
The 10 best places to live in Australia
- Warringah, NSW
- Stirling, WA
- Wanneroo, WA
- Wollongong, NSW
- Eastern Suburbs – South, NSW
- Townsville, QLD
- Shoalhaven, NSW
- Eastern Suburbs – North, NSW
- Southport, QLD
- Newcastle, NSW