SourceTargetCommunity Atlas
We are Lismore

We are Lismore.

Home to one of the larger German-speaking communities in New South Wales, and 59 other language communities besides.

Our population
43,934
Speak another language
5,147
Languages at home
15+
Growth since last census
+88.1%
60 languages are spoken at home in Lismore. German leads (201 speakers), with Italian close behind (189). 12 per cent of us speak a language other than English at home. That is the measure of a community that has not left its languages behind.
speak German at home
201
Our largest community language, German, is spoken by 0.5% of Lismore residents at home.
What makes our community ours
German
201 speakers

201 speakers, 0.5% of Lismore. -8% since 2021.

Italian
189 speakers

189 speakers, 0.4% of Lismore. -32% since 2021.

Punjabi
158 speakers

158 speakers, 0.4% of Lismore. +216% since 2021.

The languages of Lismore

60 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.

German
201 · -8.2%
Italian
189 · -32.3%
Punjabi
158 · +216.0%
French
101 · +57.8%
Spanish
87 · +8.8%
Japanese
82 · +34.4%
Auslan
74 · +39.6%
Thai
72 · +53.2%
Vietnamese
63 · +8.6%
Bandjalang
62 · +181.8%
Mandarin
62 · -24.4%
Nepali
49 · +1125.0%
Korean
44 · +193.3%
Tagalog
43 · -25.9%
Dutch
43 · +10.3%
GROWTH ≥ 50%
≥ 20%
≥ 5%
≥ 0%
≥ -10%
DECLINING
  1. 01
    German201 · 0.5%
    8.2%
  2. 02
    Italian189 · 0.4%
    32.3%
  3. 03
    Punjabi158 · 0.4%
    216.0%
  4. 04
    French101 · 0.2%
    57.8%
  5. 05
    Spanish87 · 0.2%
    8.8%
  6. 06
    Japanese82 · 0.2%
    34.4%
  7. 07
    Auslan74 · 0.2%
    39.6%
  8. 08
    Thai72 · 0.2%
    53.2%
  9. 09
    Vietnamese63 · 0.1%
    8.6%
  10. 10
    Bandjalang62 · 0.1%
    181.8%
  11. 11
    Mandarin62 · 0.1%
    24.4%
  12. 12
    Nepali49 · 0.1%
    1125.0%
Fastest-growing among us
Nepali
+1125.0% since last census

We publish this so our residents can see themselves counted, and so the agencies, funders and neighbours who serve us can see who we actually serve. Language access is not a translation line-item in our budget. It is how an emergency notice reaches a grandparent, how an enrolment form is understood, and how a health campaign actually lands in the suburbs that make up our council.

Our suburbs
Where we are
In context
Lismore
11.7%
New South Wales
31.4%
Australia
27.3%

11.7% of Lismore residents speak a language other than English at home, against 31.4% for New South Wales and 27.3% nationally. Drawn from the 2021 census.