MARIBYRNONG has confirmed its status as one of Australia’s most diverse communities.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics census 2011 figures, released on Thursday, reveal almost half of the city’s 71,635 residents were born overseas.
Their number has skyrocketed from 24,502 in 2006 to 34,186.
Overall, there are 8494 more people living in Maribyrnong than at the time of the last census in 2006.
The most often cited countries of birth after Australia were Vietnam (9.5percent), India (4percent), China (3percent), England (2percent) and New Zealand (1.7percent).
Six in 10 residents have both parents born overseas, compared to a state average of four in 10.
In just over half of all homes, a language other than English was spoken. Leading were Vietnamese (11.9percent), Cantonese (3.6percent), Greek (2.7percent), Mandarin (2.6percent) and Italian (2.4percent).
Mayor John Cumming said he wasn’t surprised to see the number of new migrants settling in the area. “I think we are a very open community and a very welcoming community,” he said. “It is an area that has been evolving for 150 years and I expect it will evolve into the future.”
The data revealed an intriguing snapshot of where Maribyrnong fits in Melbourne’s west. Residents have a median age of 34, a median weekly personal income of $577 and household income of $1257.
Catholicism is still the leading religion at 26.7 per cent, but the number of those reporting ‘no religion’ jumped from 19.6 to 24 per cent.
At 40 per cent, more Maribyrnong residents rent their homes than any other local government area in the west. The median mortgage is also the west’s equal highest at $2000 per month.
Maribyrnong led the region in the number of people living alone (27 per cent) and had the lowest marriage rate (two in five adults).
Car ownership is the west’s lowest with 15 per cent of residents having no car.
