Paint Juicy CONNECT, brand partnerships and event activations
Regional Marketing Statistics for AustraliaQLD, NSW and NT by the Numbers
Why Paint Juicy CONNECT? Because Paint Juicy connects!
Every regional pitch you've ever sat through has said the same thing: the regions are big, they spend, and brands ignore them. Fair enough. But a business case needs more than a vibe, so we went looking for the regional marketing statistics Australia's own researchers have published, read every source page ourselves, and put the figures that hold up in one place.
What follows covers how many people live outside the capitals across QLD, NSW and the NT, what they spend, how little of the national ad budget follows them, and why women over 45 sit at the centre of that gap. Each figure links to where it was published and names the year. At the end, we show where Paint Juicy CONNECT fits, briefly, because the numbers are the point of this page. Figures checked 11/10/2026.
No. 01
Regional marketing statistics for Australia at a glance
If you only have a minute before your planning meeting, these are the figures worth writing on the whiteboard.
| What | The figure, as published | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| People living in regional and remote Australia | 10.02 million | Regional Australia Institute, 2026 |
| Share of the population living regionally | 37% | Boomtown, quoted by CommBank, 2026 |
| Share of national advertising and marketing spend going to regional markets | around 18% | Boomtown, quoted by CommBank, 2026 |
| Regional annual spending power | $250 billion | CommBank iQ research for Boomtown, 2026 |
| Regional share of total national consumer spend | 35% | CommBank iQ research for Boomtown, 2026 |
| Women aged 45+ in Australia | 4.8 million | WPP Media and Are Media, 2026 |
| Women 45+ who say brands don't represent them | more than one in four | WPP Media and Are Media, 2026 |
Two numbers in that table do most of the work. Thirty-seven per cent of the people, around eighteen per cent of the spend. Everything below is detail on why that gap exists and what it means for you.
No. 02
How many people live in regional Queensland, NSW and the NT?
Start with headcount, because every other argument rests on it. The Regional Australia Institute's 2026 analysis of ABS data found the regional and remote population "grew by 1.1 per cent in 2025, reaching 10.02 million". Ten million people is not a niche, and it is still growing.
Capital versus the rest of the state
The Australian Bureau of Statistics splits each state into its capital and the "rest of state". For the three states and territories Paint works in, the ABS Regional population 2024-25 release reported this growth over the year:
| State or territory | Capital city growth, 2024-25 | Rest of state or territory growth, 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | Greater Brisbane up 58,200 people (2.1%) | up 39,700 (1.4%) |
| New South Wales | Greater Sydney up 75,200 people (1.4%) | up 25,200 (0.9%) |
| Northern Territory | Greater Darwin up 2,700 people (1.7%) | up 950 (0.9%) |
Queensland is the standout. The Australian Government's Centre for Population noted in its 2026 analysis of the same data that regional Queensland was the fastest growing rest-of-state area in 2024-25, at 1.4 per cent, and that it was "the second year in a row". The same paper flagged that regional areas in the Northern Territory are "experiencing elevated growth levels".
The towns adding the most people
The RAI's 2026 table of regional council areas ranked by annual population change is a handy reality check for anyone who thinks "regional" means a dusty main street. These are the Queensland and NSW entries in its top ten:
| Council area | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast, QLD | 679,286 | 691,230 | +11,944 |
| Sunshine Coast, QLD | 374,298 | 381,957 | +7,659 |
| Fraser Coast, QLD | 120,351 | 122,924 | +2,573 |
| Central Coast, NSW | 355,354 | 357,816 | +2,462 |
| Lake Macquarie, NSW | 222,144 | 224,540 | +2,396 |
| Townsville, QLD | 203,972 | 206,260 | +2,288 |
| Maitland, NSW | 98,232 | 100,439 | +2,207 |
The flow isn't slowing either. The Centre for Population's Regional Population 2024-25 summary recorded that capital cities had "a net internal migration loss of around 30,000 people to regional areas", and the RAI says "more than one third of city dwellers are considering a regional move". The woman who used to be in your Brisbane or Sydney buy may now live two hours up the highway, and your plan may not have followed her.
No. 03
What regional Australians spend
Headcount is nice. Wallets are better. The most detailed recent picture comes from research CommBank iQ ran for Boomtown, analysing anonymised transaction data from 17 million Australians across 2025. CommBank's 2026 write-up puts regional spending power at $250 billion a year. That is 35% of total national consumer spend, and in the major states the regions account for "up to half of all category spend".
| Region | Share of state population living regionally | Combined annual spend |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Queensland | "Around 50%" | $76.2 billion |
| Regional NSW | 34% | $73.7 billion |
| Category | Regional per capita spend versus capitals |
|---|---|
| Groceries | +13% |
| Hardware and garden | +53% |
| Active lifestyle | +38% |
| Automotive | 28% more |
No. 04
How under-served regional audiences are by advertisers
Here's the gap in one sentence, from Boomtown's marketing lead in that CommBank piece: "37% of the Australian population lives regionally, but only around 18% of the national advertising and marketing spend is directed to those regional markets".
A regional media seller's analysis published on mi-3 in 2026 puts regional media spend at "a decade high of 18.3% of the national advertising spend", which it says "still vastly under-indexes". Notice the two framings: one counts advertising and marketing, the other media spend. Close, not identical, so quote whichever one matches your argument and don't blend them.
The gap is old news, which is what makes it interesting. Back in 2019, B&T reported that "only 10 per cent of national media budgets are spent regionally" while 36 per cent of the population lived there. Different years, different measures, so treat it as context rather than a trend line. The direction is clear enough: some money has moved, and most of it still hasn't.
What regional customers expect in return
Being ignored isn't neutral. Research by The Growth Distillery on regional cities and towns, reported by Mediaweek in 2026, found "60% expect brands to actively engage with their communities, yet nearly half say brands are not meeting those expectations". That's an open door. A brand that turns up locally, in person, is answering a question regional customers are already asking.
No. 05
Women over 45: the spenders advertising keeps missing
The regional gap has a second gap folded inside it, and it's about age and gender.
| Finding | Figure, as published | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Women aged 45+ in Australia | 4.8 million | WPP Media and Are Media, 2026 |
| Their health and beauty spend in four weeks | $2.8 billion, 34% of national category spend | Roy Morgan data cited in The Power Gap, 2026 |
| Women 45+ who say brands don't represent them | more than one in four | The Power Gap, 2026 |
| Women 50 to 64 who think advertisers aren't interested in women their age | 70 percent | Bauer Media, The Defiant Woman, 2019 |
| Women 50 to 64 who find advertising often ageist | 75 percent | Bauer Media, The Defiant Woman, 2019 |
| Australians over 50 who feel less visible in society | 73 per cent | Australian Seniors, Gen Seen Report, 2024 |
The newest of these is The Power Gap, a national study of 1,067 women by WPP Media and Are Media, reported by Mediaweek in 2026. Beyond the spend, it found women 45+ who bought after a recommendation were "four times more likely" than younger women to have also noticed advertising for the product in editorial media. Translation: she wants a trusted context, not a single loud post.
The older studies show the feeling has lasted. Bauer Media's Defiant Woman research, reported by mi-3 in 2019, and the Gen Seen Report, covered by B&T in 2024, which surveyed more than 5,000 Australians over 50, both point the same way. Note the Gen Seen figure covers men and women together.
If she's your customer, our guides to reaching women over 40 in regional towns and marketing to Gen X women cover tone, timing and what switches her off. This page sticks to the numbers.
No. 06
What the numbers mean when you choose where to show up
Statistics only earn their keep if they change a decision. Here's how we'd put these to work in a real plan, whether or not Paint is part of it.
No. 07
How to read regional research without getting caught out
Most of the regional figures in circulation come from organisations that sell regional media or banking products. That doesn't make them wrong. It does mean you should read them the way a good analyst would.
| Check | Why it matters | Example from this page |
|---|---|---|
| Who published it | Media sellers and banks fund research that supports their case | The $250 billion figure is CommBank iQ research for Boomtown |
| How "regional" is defined | Changes totals by millions of people | ABS rest of state includes the Gold Coast |
| What was measured | Ad spend, media spend and marketing spend aren't the same | 18.3% media spend versus around 18% advertising and marketing spend |
| When | A 2019 figure is context, not current fact | B&T's 10 per cent and 36 per cent are from 2019 |
| Sample and method | Transaction data and surveys answer different questions | Transaction data from 17 million Australians versus a survey of 1,067 women |
Quote figures exactly as published, name the source and year in the same sentence, and you'll never be caught rounding a number into something it isn't.
No. 08
Where Paint's rooms fit in this picture
Paint is a mobile paint and sip night out. We bring the whole show to the venue, in coastal and inland towns right across Queensland and New South Wales. Expect up to 3 hours of painting, a live singalong and trivia while the paint dries. The full picture of how brands join in sits on our Paint Juicy CONNECT hub.
The overlap with the numbers above is the reason this page exists. Most of our guests are women, in their thirties right through to their nineties, who book together with sisters, mates, mums and colleagues. Some of Paint's biggest nights have landed in the very council areas the table above ranks: Helensvale on the Gold Coast booked 137 guests, Sunshine Beach on the Sunshine Coast 117, and Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast 101, all for 80s and 90s singalongs. Those are exactly the markets where the research says brands are thin on the ground and customers want them to turn up.
That's what CONNECT offers: a brand in the room, in person, in a regional town, with women the ad industry keeps saying it overlooks. How a run across several towns is planned, packaged and reported lives on our regional brand campaigns page. If the first step is simply getting a sample into her hands, start with product sampling and goodie bags. And if you'd like to see one town up close, the Bundaberg advertising page is a good example of how we look at a single market.
No. 09
Why Paint Juicy CONNECT? Because Paint Juicy connects!
The research describes a gap between where people live and where brands spend. A Paint night closes it one room at a time: her town, her friends, her favourite songs, and your brand sitting right there with them.
No. 10
Questions marketers ask about regional Australia's numbers
Why do reports give different numbers for regional Australia's population?
Because they draw the line in different places. The RAI counts regional and remote Australia at 10.02 million. Other researchers count only major centres outside the capitals, or define regional as everywhere outside five named capitals. None of them is wrong. Check the definition before you compare two figures, and never add them together.
Is the Gold Coast regional?
In ABS terms, yes. It sits in the rest of Queensland, outside Greater Brisbane, and the RAI ranks it as a regional city with the biggest annual population gain in its 2026 table. Some media plans still lump it in with Brisbane, so check what your own data does before you quote it as either.
Why do regional spending totals differ between reports?
Because each one is built from a different dataset. The $250 billion on this page comes from CommBank iQ transaction research for Boomtown, published in 2026, covering 2025 spending. Totals you'll see elsewhere in trade press often come from another bank's data, a different category list or a different regional boundary. Use one total, name its source, and don't mix two in the same sentence.
Does any research measure regional spending in the Northern Territory?
Not that we could verify for this page. The ABS and the Centre for Population both report NT population growth, including the rest of the territory outside Greater Darwin, but we didn't find a published regional NT spend figure on a page we could read in full. When we do, it goes here.
How current are these figures?
Most come from 2024, 2025 and 2026 publications, checked on 11/10/2026. A few older studies, from 2019, appear because they're still the only Australian research on that exact question, and we've named their year every time. We'll refresh the page when the ABS publishes its next regional population release.
Your move
Put your brand where the numbers point
Why Paint Juicy CONNECT? Because Paint Juicy connects! If these figures match what your own sales data is whispering, tell us which regional markets matter to you and we'll show you where Paint's rooms line up, and where they don't. The full menu, our guest-first rules and how pricing works are on the CONNECT hub.
Curious which regional towns Paint visits next? Every state has its own list of upcoming nights.
