Regional Australians are more community-minded and feel less stressed and more connected than people living in the big metropolitan cities, even amid continuing cost-of-living pressures.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
These are some of the key findings of the latest Heartbeat of Australia report, the country's most comprehensive annual study of national sentiment exploring how Australians - particularly those in regional and rural areas - are feeling about their lives, their communities and the future.
Conducted by ACM, publisher of this masthead, in partnership with specialist research agency Australian Regional Insights and the University of Canberra, the 2025 Heartbeat report is based on a survey of more than 7300 Australians.
The study, now in its fourth year, offers a detailed picture of life, confidence and community wellbeing outside the five capital cities.
Regional Australia is home to 9.9 million Aussies - or 36 per cent of the country's total population.
The Heartbeat results show that those living in the regions continue to record higher life satisfaction than residents of the big metropolitan cities:
- 35 per cent in the regions say they are very or completely satisfied with their personal relationships, compared with 31 per cent for those in metro areas;
- 29 per cent are very satisfied with the time they spend commuting to work (metro: 24 per cent)
- 28 per cent are very satisfied with their standard of living (metro: 25 per cent); and
- 28 per cent are very satisfied with the amount of free time they have for leisure (metro: 25 per cent).
Almost 70 per cent of those surveyed who moved from cities to regional areas say their life has changed for the better, with 45 per cent saying their decision was driven by the desire for a lifestyle change, 28 per cent were seeking more affordable housing and 27 per cent wanted to live in a better community.
While many of the concerns of people in regional Australia were shared by their capital city cousins, property prices were significantly more concerning for those in the cities (61 per cent for metro survey respondents versus 55 per cent for regional).
Concerns about economic conditions, rent and rental availability, crime and family and domestic violence were near the top of the list for both.
"While regional Australians may be less satisfied with their financial situation than those in our capital cities - 18 per cent versus 23 per cent very satisfied - across the country we found that the number one issue affecting people's personal lives was the cost of living," Laura Allen, director of research and insights for ACM's Australian Regional Insights, said.
Asked about issues of concern in their personal life, 62 per cent of regional Australians and 63 per cent of metro city residents were extremely or very concerned about the cost of living.
By comparison, only 26 per cent of regional survey respondents were worried about job opportunities (37 per cent for metro).
Ms Allen said a key focus for the Heartbeat study was understanding how regional Australians stay connected to their community and their sense of community belonging and wellbeing.
Key findings on news consumption include:
- 78 per cent of regional residents say they want to know what's going on in their local area;
- 76 per cent say they want to understand the things that might affect them;
- 27 per cent say online news is their main source of local news, followed by TV (24 per cent) and social media (17 per cent); and
- 60 per cent say local newspapers - printed or online - are the most trusted news source, ahead of TV (57 per cent), metro or national newspapers (53 per cent) and social media (25 per cent).
"This study shows us what people are feeling and valuing and reinforces that local news isn't just informative, it shapes how they connect, spend and engage," Ms Allen said.
The Heartbeat survey was conducted online between May 12 and June 19, 2025, capturing insights from 7358 respondents nationwide, with results independently weighted to represent the national population by age, gender and geography.
