We are Hobsons Bay

26 per cent.

Nearly 26 in every 100 Hobsons Bay residents speak a language other than English at home. It is one of the shares that shapes Victoria.

Our population
89,888
Speak another language
23,281
Languages at home
118
Growth since last census
−5.0%

One in 4 of us speaks a language other than English at home: 23k people, most often Arabic, Greek and Vietnamese. That is not a fringe of the community. It is a standing share of every audience anyone here is trying to reach.

In Victoria

#19

of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #81 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Arabic

2,712 speakers

Arabic is spoken by 2,712 of our residents at home, 3.0% of Hobsons Bay.

Greek

2,257 speakers

Greek is spoken by 2,257 of our residents at home, 2.5% of Hobsons Bay.

Vietnamese

1,851 speakers

Vietnamese is spoken by 1,851 of our residents at home, 2.1% of Hobsons Bay.

The languages of Hobsons Bay

118 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 Hobsons Bay, covering 17,743 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
    2,712-10.8%
  2. 02
    Greek
    2,257-3.0%
  3. 03
    Vietnamese
    1,851+5.5%
  4. 04
    Italian
    1,785-25.3%
  5. 05
    Mandarin
    1,170-5.6%
  6. 06
    Macedonian
    1,010-5.6%
  7. 07
    Maltese
    929-23.5%
  8. 08
    Spanish
    822+44.2%
  9. 09
    Cantonese
    793-11.9%
  10. 10
    Hindi
    730-11.8%

Fastest-growing among us

Portuguese

+76.8% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the Victoria average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 23k 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.

Portuguese grew 76.8% since the last census, to 290 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

27.8% of us were born overseas, across 126 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    3,082+2.2%
  2. 02
    India
    2,471-2.3%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    1,937-2.4%
  4. 04
    Vietnam
    1,521+7.1%
  5. 05
    Italy
    1,255-13.7%
  6. 06
    Philippines
    1,147+14.9%
  7. 07
    Greece
    988-8.6%
  8. 08
    Malta
    971-13.1%
  9. 09
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    894-12.1%
  10. 10
    Lebanon
    876-10.8%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    40,722-7.2%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    35,398+27.2%
  3. 03
    Islam
    4,666+5.7%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    2,118+12.2%
  5. 05
    Buddhism
    2,012-2.5%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    80+116%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 12 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Hobsons Bay 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

Hobsons Bay
25.9%
Victoria
26.6%
Australia
21.3%

25.9% of Hobsons Bay residents speak a language other than English at home, against 26.6% for Victoria 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. 25.9% is 23,281 residents as a share of all 89,888 of us. A further 4,188 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 30.6%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 27.2%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Hobsons Bay, 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 Hobsons Bay 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 Hobsons Bay.