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Living in Australia community views

A strong sense of community

While you don’t necessarily have to love thy neighbour there certainly is a value in feeling like you have 'a strong sense of community'. Countless studies report the positive correlation between residents’ connection to place / community with higher levels of self-reported wellbeing and optimism. Typically, Regional Australians place a relatively higher value 'a strong sense of community' when asked to consider what makes somewhere a good place to live.

A strong sense of community in Australia in 2025

29% of residents selected ‘A strong sense of community’ as an important attribute when considering what makes somewhere a good place to live, making it the 8th most important liveability aspect for Australia residents overall. Residents rated their experience of ‘A strong sense of community’ in their local area 6.2 out of 10, on average, making it the 6th most positively experienced attribute of 16.

Benchmarks

Importance
Experience
Australia 2025
29%
6.2
Regional Australia
36%
6.4
Metropolitan Australia
24%
6.0

Local Area

Importance
Experience
Australia
29%
6.2
Adelaide (n = 207)
24%
5.7
Central NSW (n = 198)
39%
7.0
Central QLD (n = 227)
45%
6.7
Central VIC (n = 218)
44%
6.7
Darwin (n = 199)
26%
5.4
Eastern VIC (n = 219)
42%
6.3
Far North Queensland (n = 220)
27%
5.7
Hobart (n = 168)
25%
6.2
Melbourne (n = 456)
25%
5.9
Northern NSW (n = 218)
49%
6.5
Perth (n = 333)
24%
6.1
Regional NT (n = 147)
34%
5.9
Regional SA (n = 144)
34%
6.6
Regional Tas (n = 145)
37%
6.4
Regional WA (n = 220)
43%
6.5
Rest of QLD (n = 37)
60%
7.8
South East Queensland (n = 531)
22%
6.2
Southern NSW (n = 207)
42%
6.7
Sydney (n = 430)
25%
6.2
The ACT (n = 188)
27%
6.0
Western VIC (n = 195)
35%
6.6

Gender

Importance
Experience
Australia
29%
6.2
Male (n = 1709)
27%
6.1
Female (n = 3037)
31%
6.3
Other (n = 39)
19%
4.5

Age

Importance
Experience
Australia
29%
6.2
18 - 34 (n = 593)
22%
5.9
35 - 59 (n = 1681)
28%
6.1
60 + (n = 2302)
36%
6.5

Significantly higher
Significantly lower