Geraldton: Internal migration to WA town skyrockets according to Regional Movers Index

The regional lifestyle places such as Geraldton offer is continuing to be attractive to everyday Australians, with the number of interstate people moving to the Mid West city up 69 per cent in a year.

The recent March 2026 quarter results of the Regional Movers Index revealed the shift to regional living in Australia had skyrocketed to reach a record peak, up 20.1 per cent from the previous quarter.

This year’s March quarter was also up 4.7 per cent in comparison to the same time last year.

The RMI also found city residents moving out to the regions outnumbered those going the other way by 29.7 per cent.

In Greater Geraldton, internal migration was up by 69.1 per cent in the 12 months from March 2025 to March 2026.

That is a healthy jump, but significantly down from two years ago when Geraldton recorded one of the best 12-month comparison rates in Australia, with a 395 per cent rise.

Despite this, Geraldton and the Mid West is still among the regions welcoming newcomers, with many choosing the area for its laidback lifestyle.

That was certainly the case for HIT 96.5 Workday announcer Alex Dugan, who made the move from NSW to Geraldton last November.

Moving from Newcastle, the 21-year-old radio host said the Geraldton lifestyle was even better than she could have dreamed.

Ms Dugan said a career opportunity “she couldn’t pass up” was what brought her to the Mid West of the Wild West.

“I’m loving every second of Geraldton. Coming from Newcastle, which is a much larger city to a place like Geraldton, is a massive change of pace, but it’s definitely something I needed,” she said.

“I think moving to a regional town is something everyone should experience in their life, that small town vibes. They write movies and TV shows about it for a reason, it’s so much fun.”

Ms Dugan said since moving to Geraldton she had grown both personally and professionally — something she attributed to the community.

“As cheesy as that sounds, Geraldton is a place where everyone knows your name and everybody cares to know you name,” she said.

“You’ll never walk past somebody along the foreshore that doesn’t have a smile on their face or won’t give you a wave or say hello. It’s such a nice, welcoming, accepting community here that I don’t think you’d really get anywhere else.”

Regional Australia Institute CEO Liz Ritchie said the record result of more Australians moving to the regions confirmed the enduring and growing appeal of regional living.

“This is the highest level of capital‑to‑regional movement the RMI has ever recorded. Australians are continuing to choose regional life in greater numbers, even as economic conditions shift,” she said.

“Across COVID, inflation, housing pressures and tight labour markets, the trend has been remarkably consistent — people are leaving capital cities for regions, and they’re doing so at increasing rates.”