What is the population of Dubbo, New South Wales?

The population of Dubbo, New South Wales, is 39,054. This makes the Dubbo population similar to that of Orange, Traralgon, Busselton and Bathurst.

Dubbo in New South Wales is one of Australia’s biggest inland cities. This isn’t saying all that much, as most of Australia’s big cities are on the coast. It is home to the Western Plains Zoo.

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But even the bigger inland cities, such as Ballarat, Toowoomba, Rockhampton and Canberra, tend to be only a couple of hours away from the coast at most.

Dubbo, however, is properly inland and on the cusp of the New South Wales outback. It’s a 379km drive to Newcastle, the quickest coastal town to reach from Dubbo. Sydney’s about 20km away, and the drive from Sydney to Dubbo takes just under five hours.

Population of Dubbo, NSW

Given that it’s such an outpost, it’s reasonably impressive that the population of Dubbo is just under 40,000. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Dubbo population in 2020 was 39,054. It’s a steadily growing city, too. In 2010, the population of Dubbo was 35,056.

For a sense of scale, lets compare the Dubbo population to that of other Australian cities. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the size of Dubbo is a little smaller than that of Orange or Bowral–Mittagong in the Southern Highlands. But it is a little bigger than Bathurst or Nowra-Bomaderry.

Similar-sized cities to Dubbo, NSW

Warragul-Drouin in West Gippsland is a teeny bit bigger than Dubbo, as are Traralgon–Morwell and Busselton. But Warrnambool, Geraldton and Albany are a couple of thousand of people smaller.

Given the distance from the big coastal cities, and middling population levels, there are a surprising amount of things to do in Dubbo. These include the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which offers safari-style accommodation, Dubbo Observatory and Old Dubbo Gaol.