Albion Park and Horsley are among the fastest growing suburbs in the state, according to new ABS data

The Horsley to Kembla Grange area ranked sixth in the state, with a population growth rate of 9.1 per cent between 2020 and 2021.

Albion Park to Macquarie Pass wasn't far behind in eighth place, with eight per cent population growth between 2020 and 2021.

Many suburbs in Sydney showed a population decline, proof of the movement of Australians away from metro areas and towards the regions.

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John Hermann and his family moved to Tullimbar from Sydney last year, in search of a better lifestyle without the Sydney price tag. Tullimbar is in the area between Albion Park and Macquarie Pass, which grew by eight per cent last year.

"I didn't want a huge mortgage just to be close to the coast and have that lifestyle," said Mr Hermann.

After feeling disenchanted with Sydney, Mr Hermann and his wife started to look at properties elsewhere. Like many others last year, they found the Albion Park area and purchased in May 2021.

"I ran my own plumbing business in Sydney as well as down here for over 12 years and always loved the Shellharbour region," Mr Hermann said.

"But go back five to ten years ago, unless you lived from Stanwell Tops to Bulli, the rest of the Illawarra had a really bad name."

"Over the years with the bypass, infrastructure plus government moves to crack down and clean up the region, I've seen a lot of positive growth myself when working down here."

"We just got in before the popularity has grown to what it is today," he said.

Mr Hermann and his wife bought an empty block of land for $850,000 in 2021, and it's already valued at $1.1-1.2 million, he said.

The community is fantastic, said the father-of-four. He's stopped all his Sydney work and works locally now, and his street is filled with other young families.

"The schools are great, and the area's negative features have fast nearly faded out with all the new drive of families and people moving in," he said.

"I'm extremely grateful we got in when we did and happy we chose to take a gamble in an area we haven't grown up in or had any family or friends in."

While most Illawarra suburbs saw at least some population growth, there were a few exceptions.

West Wollongong and the Figtree Keiraville areas around the university declined in population last year, possibly due to a loss of on-campus university students.

The Unanderra to Mount Kembla population also dropped by almost one per cent, alongside a handful of other suburbs.

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