We are Hilltops

4 per cent.

4 in every 100 Hilltops residents speak a language other than English at home. 842 people, in 45 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
18,915
Speak another language
842
Languages at home
45
Growth since last census
+59.2%

Most of us speak English at home. 842 of us do not, across 45 languages, most often Arabic, Mandarin and Punjabi. 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

#56

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #275 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Arabic

329 speakers

Arabic is spoken by 329 of our residents at home, 1.7% of Hilltops.

Mandarin

72 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 72 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Hilltops.

Punjabi

53 speakers

Punjabi is spoken by 53 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Hilltops.

The languages of Hilltops

45 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 Hilltops, covering 724 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. 01
    Arabic
    329+74.1%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    72+118%
  3. 03
    Punjabi
    53+179%
  4. 04
    Filipino
    47+370%
  5. 05
    Tagalog
    38+52.0%
  6. 06
    Spanish
    29+142%
  7. 07
    Serbian
    25-37.5%
  8. 08
    Malayalam
    15+114%
  9. 09
    Italian
    14-71.4%
  10. 10
    German
    13+85.7%

Fastest-growing among us

Arabic

+74.1% 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. 842 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.

Arabic grew 74.1% since the last census, to 329 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

5.8% of us were born overseas, across 51 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    281+4.5%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    175+29.6%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    110+175%
  4. 04
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    72+112%
  5. 05
    Lebanon
    68+3.0%
  6. 06
    India
    48+33.3%
  7. 07
    Netherlands
    34+6.3%
  8. 08
    Germany
    32+33.3%
  9. 09
    United States of America
    19+46.2%
  10. 10
    Scotland
    15+50.0%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    11,767-12.4%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    4,901+67.2%
  3. 03
    Islam
    519+98.1%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    65+27.5%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    44+33.3%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    0-100%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 18 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Hilltops 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

Hilltops
4.5%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

4.5% of Hilltops 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. 4.5% is 842 residents as a share of all 18,915 of us. A further 1,395 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 11.8%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 4.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Hilltops, 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 Hilltops 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 Hilltops.