Cultural diversity
Ancestry
About this topic
Ancestry describes a person's cultural association and ethnic background, and Census respondents can report more than one ancestry. It is a broader cultural measure than country of birth because it can reflect family heritage across generations.
This topic helps show the size and diversity of cultural groups in an area, including groups whose members were born in Australia. Because multiple ancestries can be reported, ancestry totals can exceed the total population, so it is best read with birthplace, language used at home, and religion.
Interpretation notes
- People can report up to two ancestries, so category totals represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count.
- ABS advises that ancestry is best used with birthplace and language, because ancestry alone is a broad measure of ethnicity and cultural background.
- The 2021 form added separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mark boxes, so those categories need caution in over-time comparison.
Key insight
In 2021, the largest ancestry groups among residents in Scottsdale were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Scottsdale - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Scottsdale in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Dorset (M) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Scottsdale, with comparison markers for Dorset (M).
Australian
2021 count
1,177
% of total
24.5%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
1,177
24.5%
+0.2pp
English
2021 count
1,106
% of total
23.0%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
1,106
23.0%
-0.5pp
Irish
2021 count
202
% of total
4.2%
Change from 2016
-0.7pp
202
4.2%
-0.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
175
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
-1.4pp
175
3.6%
-1.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
88
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
+1.7pp
88
1.8%
+1.7pp
German
2021 count
57
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
57
1.2%
-0.4pp
Dutch
2021 count
28
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
28
0.6%
-0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
20
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
20
0.4%
-0.2pp
Chinese
2021 count
18
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
-
18
0.4%
-
Filipino
2021 count
10
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
10
0.2%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+324
+0.2pp
English
+283
-0.5pp
Irish
+30
-0.7pp
Scottish
-1
-1.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
+84
+1.7pp
German
+1
-0.4pp
Dutch
+1
-0.2pp
Italian
-1
-0.2pp
Filipino
+7
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Scottsdale. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Dorset (M).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Dorset (M)% | Count | % | Dorset (M)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 1,177 | 24.5% | 22.8% | 853 | 24.3% | 24.4% | +324 | +0.2pp |
| English | 1,106 | 23.0% | 22.9% | 823 | 23.5% | 22.2% | +283 | -0.5pp |
| Irish | 202 | 4.2% | 4.3% | 172 | 4.9% | 4.1% | +30 | -0.7pp |
| Scottish | 175 | 3.6% | 4.6% | 176 | 5.0% | 4.8% | -1 | -1.4pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 88 | 1.8% | 1.9% | 4 | 0.1% | 0.1% | +84 | +1.7pp |
| German | 57 | 1.2% | 1.7% | 56 | 1.6% | 1.8% | +1 | -0.4pp |
| Dutch | 28 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 27 | 0.8% | 0.8% | +1 | -0.2pp |
| Italian | 20 | 0.4% | 0.5% | 21 | 0.6% | 0.5% | -1 | -0.2pp |
| Chinese | 18 | 0.4% | 0.2% | - | - | 0.2% | - | - |
| Filipino | 10 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 3 | 0.1% | 0.1% | +7 | +0.1pp |
| Total | 4,802 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 3,506 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +1,296 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).