Wagga's population will grow even faster due to the coronavirus, according to the latest demographic forecasts.
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A recent Ripehouse Advisory report predicts Wagga's population will grow by 4.9 per cent in three years, an increase of 1.69 per cent compared to pre-coronavirus modelling.
Ripehouse Advisory chief executive Jacob Field said it was a "silver lining" for Wagga, which was becoming an increasingly attractive destination for those looking to flee the crowded big cities.
"Going in a high density apartment to the lift every morning and being faced with 20 people who are coughing, that might be the straw that breaks the camel's back," Mr Field said.
"Wagga Wagga's in a great position to benefit from that."
Mr Field said the lockdown had also shown people the possibilities of working from home, which would allow more white-collar workers to live in regional Australia.
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Ahead of the curve is Wagga resident Adam Bannister, who has been working from home for seven years and is a "massive advocate" for the lifestyle.
He works as a consultant and event manager from the comfort of his home in Gobbagombalin, where he organises functions for many Sydney and Melbourne-based companies.
Mr Bannister said companies who trust their employees enough to work remotely would "save a fortune" in office space and commuting times, and that more employers would come around to the idea over time.
He said more employees had also developed a taste for working from home, and that regional Australia was a natural fit for those people.
"If you can work from home why wouldn't you live somewhere like Wagga?" he said.
"Why wouldn't you live somewhere with fresh air and no traffic - it goes hand in hand with it."
Builder Wayne Carter estimated that Wagga would need around 9500 extra houses by 2038 in order to accommodate its booming population, and that the construction industry was about to get "very busy" on the other side of the lockdown.
Mr Carter said the demand was high, but that Wagga urgently needed more builders, apprentices and land in order to keep up the supply of housing for so many newcomers.
The builder said in the past week alone he'd been swamped with inquiries from city-dwellers who had made the "no-brainer" decision to move to Wagga.
"Mate, it's comparing chalk and cheese when you look at Sydney and Wagga," Mr Carter said.
"We've got everything Sydney's got apart from the harbour bridge and the surf, but we've got the five o'clock wave at Wagga beach and we've got every other amenity you could ask for."