The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its Regional Population Growth report late last month, which showed the Moree Plains Local Government Area (LGA) had increased by an estimated 191 people from the 2016 Census (taken in August 2016) to June 30, 2018.

Moree Plains' population was recorded at 13,350 people on June 30, 2018, a growth of 1.5 per cent, which Moree mayor Katrina Humphries said is exciting, considering Moree had experienced a steady population decline from 2001 to 2016.

"I'm so excited that we have official population growth," she said.

"We are also having a bit of a baby boom - the Gwydir Mobile Preschool has the biggest enrolments ever according to Wendy Baldwin, the manager.

"I think it is because our 'thirty somethings' have been away doing their thing and now they have come home to bring their kids up in the bush because it is a great thing to do.

"People that are raised in rural areas often see the benefits of bringing their own offspring up with the same delightful lifestyle that we have, even if it is a drought."

Cr Humphries said Moree also boasts plenty of sporting and professional opportunities, an affordable housing market, and great prospects for the future with the inland rail coming, which makes it an attractive town for locals to return or new families to settle.

"I feel that there is a bit of confidence around the prospects of the inland rail," she said.

"Sport-wise we have lots of good opportunities, a great golf course and now our ski park has proven itself.

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"We have good transport links to Sydney and the highways are being upgraded.

"We have enough water in Moree for 20,000 people so that is also appealing.

"There are some very good professional companies in town too that offer positions that can be filled with locals returning, and our housing market is affordable. Succession planning is also coming into play with some of the family farms too."

Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said Moree's growth is particularly pleasing given it was previously in decline.

"The growth in Moree is a result for the community, which has faced its fair share of adversity in recent years," Mr Marshall said.

"The community is resilient and now is turning a corner, especially with inland rail and other economic infrastructure firmly on the agenda."

Overall, the Northern Tablelands is growing, with an increase of 1,987 residents, pushing the population past the 80,000 mark for the very first time, to an estimated population of 81,220.

Impressively, the 2.5 per cent growth rate in the 22-month period was even greater than the region's growth rate in the previous five years.

"These are an incredibly exciting and pleasing set of figures, especially in the midst of one of the worst droughts in living memory," Mr Marshall said.

"This growth in such a short period is virtually unprecedented for our region.

"In the past, growth has been inconsistent across our region, but now every single community firmly is on the move.

"I've said for years that the Northern Tablelands is the best place to work, live and invest and now we're seeing that reflected in the numbers. As a region, we're bucking the trend compared to many other areas across country NSW, which are sadly not faring well.

"A number of our communities are growing at better than the New England North West average and are streets ahead of the trend across regional NSW."

The biggest mover was the Armidale Regional local government area (LGA) (population of 30,707), with a massive increase of 1,258 people since the Census, an increase of 4.3 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing LGAs in country NSW.

Inverell Shire also fared very well (16,844) with 361 new residents at 2.2 per cent growth.

Taking advantage of its close proximity to Armidale and quality lifestyle options, Uralla Shire (6,062) continued to develop, growing by 0.2 per cent, with an extra 14 residents.

Glen Innes Severn LGA (8,908) has benefitted from the booming renewables sector in recent times, adding another 72 people, an increase of 0.8 per cent.

Finally, the Gwydir LGA grew by 91 residents (1.7 per cent), following patchy growth previously.