Spanish
589 speakers
Spanish is spoken by 589 of our residents at home, 1.6% of Byron.
We are Byron
9 per cent.
9 in every 100 Byron residents speak a language other than English at home. 3,153 people, in 52 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.
- Our population
- 35,881
- Speak another language
- 3,153
- Languages at home
- 52
- Growth since last census
- +78.9%
Most of us speak English at home. 3,153 of us do not, across 52 languages, most often Spanish, German and French. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.
In New South Wales
#37
of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #179 of 540 nationally.
What makes our community ours
German
402 speakers
German is spoken by 402 of our residents at home, 1.1% of Byron.
French
379 speakers
French is spoken by 379 of our residents at home, 1.1% of Byron.
The languages of Byron
52 languages carry the conversation at home. Every one of them is spoken here.
Each block below is scaled to the number of people who speak that language at home, and tinted by how fast that community has grown since the last census.
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
Every language, in order
Speakers at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016. Broader ABS categories such as “Chinese, nfd” are counted in our totals but left out of this list, so the percentages can exceed the sum of the languages shown.
Fastest-growing among us
Spanish
+270.4% since last census
We share this portrait because a council below the New South Wales average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 3,153 of us do not, at home, and a service that reaches everyone except them has not reached everyone. This almanac exists so that the number is on the record before the decision is made.
Spanish grew 270.4% since the last census, to 589 speakers. A community growing at that rate is one whose translation needs are ahead of the last set of figures anyone commissioned.
Who we are, beyond language
Where we were born
19.2% of us were born overseas, across 72 countries.
- 01England1,927+16.9%
- 02New Zealand823+8.3%
- 03United States of America479+55.5%
- 04Germany437+37.4%
- 05France281+163%
- 06Brazil273+203%
- 07Canada214+68.5%
- 08Italy208+102%
- 09South Africa202+35.6%
- 10Israel185+34.1%
What we believe
Reported affiliation in Byron at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.
- 01No religion or secular beliefs21,374+42.2%
- 02Christianity8,498-13.3%
- 03Buddhism738-7.2%
- 04Judaism416+56.4%
- 05Hinduism130+136%
- 06Islam56+195%
Our suburbs
Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 30 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.
- Broken HeadTop language — Portuguese15%57
- Byron BayTop language — Spanish14%923
- Mullumbimby CreekTop language — Hebrew12%88
- Koonyum RangeTop language — Hebrew11%55
- Suffolk ParkTop language — Spanish11%414
- Skinners ShootTop language — Spanish11%30
- MullumbimbyTop language — German9%368
- Ocean ShoresTop language — German9%497
- Upper Main ArmTop language — German8%24
- TyagarahTop language — Spanish8%16
- Main ArmTop language — German8%55
- South Golden BeachTop language — German8%67
- CoorabellTop language — Punjabi7%35
- EwingsdaleTop language — French6%66
- McLeods ShootTop language — Indonesian6%33
- MyocumTop language — German6%73
- NashuaTop language — Thai6%16
- Federal (NSW)Top language — Dutch6%44
- Possum CreekTop language — French5%14
- BangalowTop language — Italian4%117
- New BrightonTop language — Thai4%15
- Binna Burra (NSW)Top language — Kirundi (Rundi)4%9
- GoonengerryTop language — German4%21
- Brunswick HeadsTop language — Portuguese4%69
- BillinudgelTop language — Punjabi4%12
- BooyongTop language — Portuguese3%7
- The PocketTop language — Punjabi3%12
- HuonbrookTop language — German3%7
- Eureka (NSW)Top language — Japanese3%9
- Wooyung0%0
- 30 suburbs in Byron. Percentage is residents speaking a language other than English at home; the figure beneath it is how many people that is.
Where we are
Byron shaded by the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. Boundaries are ABS ASGS 2021. See every council on one map.
In context
- Byron
- 8.8%
- New South Wales
- 25.7%
- Australia
- 21.3%
8.8% of Byron residents speak a language other than English at home, against 25.7% for New South Wales and 21.3% nationally. Drawn from the 2021 Census.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, language used at home by Statistical Area Level 2, aggregated to Local Government Area. Growth compares 2021 against the 2016 Census.
How the headline share is counted. 8.8% is 3,153 residents as a share of all 35,881 of us. A further 3,668 did not state a language at all, and we do not count them as speaking one — counting every non-response as a non-English speaker would put this figure at 19.0%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 9.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Byron, it is almost certainly one of those two.
Two further caveats we would rather state than bury. Summing suburbs omits residents not allocated to one — no usual address, migratory and unincorporated areas — so national totals sit a little under the ABS published figures; the Byron figures on this page are unaffected. And ranked language lists exclude ABS residual categories such as “Chinese, nfd”, which are not languages anyone can order a translation in; they remain inside the headline total.
Need this community reached in its own languages? Talk to us about translation in Byron.