Service industry jobs, an ageing population, a steady unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent and residential growth opportunities identified in the outskirts of Wagga and major regional cities are all contributing factors.

The prediction was made at yesterday's launch of Riverina Cities Population Forecasts - a new tool that uses the birth and death rate, migration and economic development to predict future age, household type and residential development across the Murray and Riverina.

The project was an initiative of the Riverina Regional Cities committee which comprises Wagga, Albury and Griffith councils and uses current ABS statistics and census data to create a model to determine future growth.

Wagga mayor Wayne Geale, who officially launched the project yesterday at the Riverine Club, said the tool would be useful for pushing for more funding from state and federal governments to improve infrastructure projects, while also helping council determine which projects to allocate funding.

"(This project) will support any state and federal grants council applies for," he said.

"It will assist council in what projects we will fund so we can best assist in the community and how we can support business and community service growth."

Glen Capuano, demographer with Forecast Informed Decisions (forecast id) who collaborated with the committee to create the software, said the versatility of the modelling combined with the review process enabled local councils to make more informed judgments.

"We have tried to factor in all changes including policy changes and migration shifts," he said.

"The system is reviewed every 18 months and after a census cycle."

"This is assisting councils in getting up-to-date information as they would otherwise have to wait for the census cycle to be completed (three to four years) or the ABS to be updated which doesn't always tailor information to regional cities."