We are Cessnock

2 per cent.

2 in every 100 Cessnock residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,290 people, in 65 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
64,254
Speak another language
1,290
Languages at home
65
Growth since last census
+79.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 1,290 of us do not, across 65 languages, most often Thai, Vietnamese and Mandarin. 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

#105

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #445 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Thai

109 speakers

Thai is spoken by 109 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Cessnock.

Vietnamese

91 speakers

Vietnamese is spoken by 91 of our residents at home, 0.1% of Cessnock.

Mandarin

85 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 85 of our residents at home, 0.1% of Cessnock.

The languages of Cessnock

65 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
The 18 most spoken languages in Cessnock, covering 961 speakers. Area is speakers at the 2021 Census; tint is the change since 2016. Every figure is also in the table below.

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.

  1. 01109+106%
  2. 0291+600%
  3. 0385+400%
  4. 0477+157%
  5. 0565+110%
  6. 0657+200%
  7. 0754+63.6%
  8. 0853+82.8%
  9. 0950+61.3%
  10. 1045+221%

Why we publish this

2.0% of us

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. 1,290 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.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

5.9% of us were born overseas, across 75 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    1,234+20.2%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    615+21.5%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    244+110%
  4. 04
    Scotland
    201+28.0%
  5. 05
    South Africa
    155+158%
  6. 06
    India
    135+58.8%
  7. 07
    Vietnam
    106+783%
  8. 08
    Thailand
    102+56.9%
  9. 09
    United States of America
    102+292%
  10. 10
    Germany
    95-35.4%

What we believe

Reported affiliation in Cessnock at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    Christianity
    31,581-9.9%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    26,705+81.5%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    316+26.9%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    191+60.5%
  5. 05
    Islam
    90+38.5%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    10

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 38 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Cessnock 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

Cessnock
2.0%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

2.0% of Cessnock 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. 2.0% is 1,290 residents as a share of all 64,254 of us. A further 4,569 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 9.1%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 2.2%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Cessnock, 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 Cessnock 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 Cessnock.