The most popular regional areas sought by capital city dwellers looking for improved lifestyles have been revealed.

The regional movers index (RMI) released today shows the Geelong local government area in Victoria tops the list of city folk seeking a tree or sea change in the 12 months up to March.

Geelong captured a 9.3 per cent share of total net internal migration, ahead of the 8.9 per cent held by the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, which had been in top place for the last two years.

The index, drawn up by the the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) and the Commonwealth Bank, shows more people are moving from metropolitan areas.

During the previous quarter, migration to regional areas recorded an 11 per cent hike compared with the previous quarter.

The figure represents a 20 per cent increase on the pre-pandemic average.

RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie said the results in the report confirmed shifting migration patterns in Australia.

“The nation’s love affair with regional living is showing no signs of abating with 25 per cent more people moving from capital cities to the regions, than back in the opposite direction,” she said.

“Further, net migration to regional Australia is now sitting 40 per cent higher than the prevailing level in the pre-pandemic era.”

Greater Geelong’s top spot reflected the rising popularity in regional Victoria as a whole.

The state captured 34 per cent of the total net inflows into all of regional Australia during the March 2025 quarter, larger than the 28 per cent share in the March 2024 quarter.