We are Yass Valley

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Yass Valley residents speak a language other than English at home. 599 people, in 51 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
17,817
Speak another language
599
Languages at home
51
Growth since last census
+23.0%

Most of us speak English at home. 599 of us do not, across 51 languages, most often Croatian, German and Italian. 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

#70

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #331 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Croatian

54 speakers

Croatian is spoken by 54 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Yass Valley.

German

43 speakers

German is spoken by 43 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Yass Valley.

Italian

41 speakers

Italian is spoken by 41 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Yass Valley.

The languages of Yass Valley

51 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 Yass Valley, covering 443 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
    Croatian
    54-15.6%
  2. 02
    German
    43-27.1%
  3. 03
    Italian
    41+86.4%
  4. 04
    Mandarin
    35-16.7%
  5. 05
    Arabic
    34+6.3%
  6. 06
    Punjabi
    29+263%
  7. 07
    Greek
    25+47.1%
  8. 08
    Vietnamese
    25-10.7%
  9. 09
    French
    21
  10. 10
    Spanish
    20-4.8%

Why we publish this

3.4% 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. 599 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

8.4% of us were born overseas, across 59 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    627+5.2%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    181-10.8%
  3. 03
    United States of America
    69-6.8%
  4. 04
    India
    60+233%
  5. 05
    Germany
    58-23.7%
  6. 06
    South Africa
    44+83.3%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    43+16.2%
  8. 08
    Croatia
    39+39.3%
  9. 09
    Ireland
    33-28.3%
  10. 10
    Philippines
    30+36.4%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    9,108-10.2%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    7,273+50.7%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    94+34.3%
  4. 04
    Islam
    61+45.2%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    48+380%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    3-75.0%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 15 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Yass Valley 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

Yass Valley
3.4%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

3.4% of Yass Valley 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. 3.4% is 599 residents as a share of all 17,817 of us. A further 956 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 8.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.6%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Yass Valley, 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 Yass Valley 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 Yass Valley.