Hobart has replaced Adelaide as the oldest capital city in Australia.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed, in 2024, the Tasmanian capital’s media age was 39.3 years, compared to Adelaide at 39.2.
ABS Head of Demography Statistics Tricia Chester said the two cities were traditionally the oldest capitals, with last year’s swap in position was the first since 2020.
Ms Chester said Darwin still had the youngest median age at 34.8 years.
The data showed Brisbane had a median age of 36.4 years, younger than all capitals, with the exception of Darwin and Canberra, where the presence of the Australian National University drove down the average.
Ms Chester said the areas within Australia with the oldest populations tended to be coastal retirement destinations.
She said tea Gardens – Hawks Nest on the New South Wales coast had the nation’s oldest median age at 66.5 years.
“This was more than three times the median age of Acton in the ACT, home to the Australian National University, which had the youngest median age in the country at 21.1 years.”
Ms Chester said sex ratios also varied considerably across the country.
She said Hobart and Adelaide not only had the oldest populations, but they were also the capitals where women outnumbered men the most.
“Our youngest capital Darwin was the only capital with more men than women.”
Ms Chester said men outnumbered women the most in the Brisbane suburb of Wacol, where multiple male correctional centres were based.
She said in that suburb there were 290.1 males per 100 females, while in Brisbane, overall, there were 98.3 men for every 100 women.
