Did you know some Australian suburbs still have remarkably high levels of Greek spoken at home—places where Hellenic heritage remains a living, everyday reality? Australia’s suburbs where Greek thrives: ABS data reveals cultural hotspots.
According to the 2021 Census from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), suburbs in both Sydney and Melbourne rank among the top nationally for Greek language use and Greek-born residents. This paints a vivid picture of where Greek culture continues to shape daily life in Australia.
Suburbs leading the way
- Earlwood (NSW): Leads the nation with 18.1% of residents speaking Greek at home, and around 7.4% born in Greece.
- Clemton Park (NSW): A smaller suburb nearby also shows strong results, with nearly one in five households using Greek as their main language.
- Clarinda (VIC): Tops Victoria with 14.2% Greek spoken at home and close to 7% of residents Greek-born.
- Oakleigh (VIC): Melbourne’s cultural hub of Hellenism — while divided across Oakleigh, Oakleigh East, and Oakleigh South — records more than 3,000 Greek speakers combined, with around 13% of Oakleigh households speaking Greek at home.
Other notable concentrations include Torrensville (SA, 11%), Wagaman (NT, 9.8%), and Highgate Hill (QLD, 4.1%).
Numbers vs percentages
When looking at absolute numbers, Earlwood comes first with more than 3,200 people speaking Greek at home. It is followed by Melbourne’s Reservoir and Preston, and Sydney’s Kingsgrove and Marrickville.
By comparison, Oakleigh’s figures may appear lower, suburb-by-suburb, but the area’s surrounding districts collectively remain one of the largest concentrations of Greek language and culture in Australia.
Greek as a leading community language
In many suburbs, Greek remains the most spoken language other than English. In Oakleigh, for example, Greek accounts for 13.3% of households, compared to 6.8% Mandarin. Similar patterns exist across Melbourne’s inner south and west — from Williamstown and Newport to Yarraville, Port Melbourne, and Albert Park.
Hellenic identity in Australia
The ABS reported that in 2021, 424,744 Australians identified as being of Greek background, with a further 40,091 identifying as Cypriot. While these figures are slightly lower than community estimates (which place the combined population closer to 600,000–700,000), they confirm that Greek Australians remain one of the country’s largest and most established migrant groups.
Generational shifts mean fewer children are raised speaking Greek at home compared to earlier decades. Yet the language still holds symbolic power — as a marker of cultural identity, faith, and continuity with family heritage. It remains the most widely spoken Southern European language in Australia, maintaining a strong presence not only in long-established suburbs but also in newer diaspora communities across the country.
