The ACT gained more than 9600 people in two years during the pandemic, while NSW residents migrated in droves, according to mobility data from 2019 to 2021.
NSW lost more than 35,000 adult residents in the period from December, 2019, before the first COVID-19 case was detected in Australia, to November last year, DSpark data showed.
The ACT region with the highest growth rate over the two years was Belconnen, which gained 3300 people aged 20 and over, according to combined telecommunication, phone, census and public transport data.
Kristy Davis moved from Nowra to Casey to be closer to her children's father at the end of January, 2020.
The trauma of the Black Summer bushfires coupled with job insecurity on the South Coast contributed to their decision to trade the sea for a tree change.
Ms Davis said being shut off from family was made easier by a smooth transition into Canberra's rental market and her children being happy at their new schools.
"Canberra was somewhere that's always been special. It's the nation's capital, it's something that's celebrated," she said.
"The sense of community is pretty incredible."
Ms Davis said, like school children from around the country, she had fond memories of rolling around on the lawns of Parliament House as a grade six kid on camp.
"It's interesting, doing that full circle and now living here, we get so caught up with life that we forget all the great things that Canberra does have to offer."
Both ex-military, Ms Davis and her husband Cody found secure employment in Canberra quickly.
However, there had been one downside in moving to one of the most economically prosperous places in the country, Ms Davis said.
"We've pretty much conceded defeat with the property market," she said. "The benchmark just keeps getting pushed further and further away, which is incredibly disappointing.
"We're sort of clinging on to hope the bubble will pop with the property market at some point and we'll be able to purchase our own property here."
In a speech delivered to a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event last month, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the capital needed to attract and retain young people.
Mr Barr said people aged 25 to 35 were moving out after finishing their studies and keeping them would have major economic and social benefits.
The mobility data showed three per cent of Australians aged 20 and over migrated interstate over the two years.
Queensland saw the largest gain in population with more than 55,900 people moving to the sunshine state.
DSpark partner Paul Rybicki said while Queensland usually attracts a large population inflow, during the pandemic it was exacerbated.
He said the Sunshine Coast was a big winner in terms of population gain, for people coming in from NSW and Victoria.
"What we saw is quite an outflow of people moving from the city out to regional, but they're not necessarily staying there," Mr Rybicki said.
"There's been a flow back in which could be people returning from their holiday homes."
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