Report plots the shift of young families from the city to the country

About half of those chasing a better work-life balance are millennials, those aged 24 to 40 years.

The reasons for this pandemic-inspired exodus are now well known, but this is the first detailed look at who exactly is making the switch.

Australia's biggest home lender, the Commonwealth Bank, has provided the data on its customers making the move in a collaboration with Regional Australia Institute through a report released today.

Young people are driving the growth with regional migration at a five year high, and the trend is showing little sign of slowing even though lockdowns have ended.

Another of the pandemic realities was that many people chose to stay put in the country and not continue moving to the city.

This trend is starting to change which policy-makers hope will free up the tight country housing market for rentals and new buyers.

"It's likely that this increased flow of regional to capital movement reflects some pent-up movement being realised during this latest (March) quarter," the CBA/RAI report found.

But the migration to the regions is still continuing apace, with net migration to regions up by 97.8 per cent on the average during the two years prior to the pandemic.

RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie said millennials and Gen-Xers were welcome additions to any regional community as they often bring with them business skills to grow the local community, as well as families who integrate into the local school system and community sporting activities.

"Regional living is attracting more young people and particularly younger families who are looking for bigger living spaces at a cheaper cost," Ms Ritchie said.

CBA regional and agribusiness banking executive general manager Paul Fowler said regional areas are providing attractive local employment opportunities.

"Regional Australia is thriving, fuelled by strong investment across a broad range of industries including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and hospitality," Mr Fowler said.

Demand for housing is soaring, particularly in South Australia where regions such as Ceduna, Mount Gambier and Port Augusta feature as the top three local government areas with the biggest growth rates in the 12 months to March 2022.

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"Mount Gambier is perfectly positioned between Adelaide and Melbourne with wonderful amenities and work opportunities in a diverse range of industries including manufacturing, agriculture, civil construction and wholesale retail," Mr Fowler said.

There was a significant jump in regional movers to Ceduna of 114pc , in the 12 months to March 2022. Growth in Mount Gambier and Port Augusta was also high, at 85pc and 74pc respectively.

In other states, Moorabool in Victoria and Western Downs in Queensland experienced substantial growth rates of 56pc each.

Millennials accounted for the highest proportion of regional movers, making up 76pc of movers to Port Augusta, 70pc of movers to Mount Gambier and 66pc of movers to Ceduna.

The biggest outflows were from Sydney and Melbourne with most people heading to regional NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

The Gold Coast in Queensland remains the most popular destination overall, attracting 11pc of people from major capitals.

The next most popular destinations were the Sunshine Coast, Greater Geelong in Victoria, and Wollongong and Newcastle in NSW.

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