Port Macquarie population: How many people live in Port Macquarie, NSW?

The Port Macquarie population is 49,478. This makes Port Macquarie approximately the same size as Mildura in Victoria or Gladstone in Queensland.

Port Macquarie is one of the larger cities in regional New South Wales. It’d realistically be classed as a medium-sized town by European standards, but Australia will whack the city label on anything with more houses than sheep.

Port Macquarie population stats

The population of Port Macquarie, NSW, is 49,478. That’s the estimate given by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for June 2020, in a report published in March 2021. This Port Macquarie population figure is for the significant urban area. This essentially means Port Macquarie and its satellite towns, such as Wauchope, home of the Bago Maze, and Sancrox, home of Billabong Zoo.

A koala at Billabong Zoo in Sancrox near Port Macquarie. Photo courtesy of Destination NSW.

This Port Macquarie population of just under 50,000 people makes it the 8^th biggest city in New South Wales. Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast, Wollongong, Albury, Coffs Harbour and Wagga Wagga are bigger.

Port Macquarie population comparison

For a comparison to cities in other Australian states, Port Macquarie is a little bit smaller than Mildura in Victoria (although the Mildura figure also includes Wentworth on the New South Wales side of the Murray River). Port Macquarie is also a little smaller than Shepparton-Mooroopna, but bigger than Traralgon–Morwell.

In Queensland, the population of Gladstone–Tannum Sands is about 4,000 people smaller than Port Macquarie, but Hervey Bay is 16,000 people bigger.

Port Macquarie makes for a good stop on the drive from Sydney to Coffs Harbour. The Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour leg of that journey takes about an hour and 40 minutes.