Yass Valley (formerly Yass Shire) is a local government area in the Australian State of New South Wales. It is located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales.

Census 2001 Statistics

Population: On Census Night, 7 August 2001, there were 9708 people (4841 males and 4867 females) counted in Yass. This represents an increase of 6.4% since the 1996 Census, and an increase of 10.6% since the 1991 Census. Of those people counted on Census Night, 95.7% were counted at home. Young Shire has an area of 3298 square kilometres, giving a population density of 2.9 people per square kilometre.

Indigenous Origin: There were 181 people (1.9%) (90 males and 91 females) who identified as being of Indigenous origin in the 2001 Census. The median age of people in the 2001 Census was 38 years.

Country Of Birth: The number of people born overseas in the 2001 Census was 902 (9.3%). Of those born overseas, the three main countries of birth in the 2001 Census were:

United Kingdom: 406 (4.2%)
New Zealand: 107 (1.1%) and
Germany: 53 (0.5%).

Ancestry: In the 2001 Census, the three most common ancestries identified with were:

Australian: 4905 people (50.7%)
English: 3722 people (38.5%) and
Irish: 1307 people (13.5%).

Language: English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 9220 people (95.3%) in the 2001 Census. The three most common languages spoken at home other than English in the 2001 Census were:

German: 30 (0.3%)
Croatian: 27 (0.3%) and
Italian: 22 (0.2%).

Computer Usage: In the week preceding the 2001 Census, 4381 people (45.3%) had used a personal computer at home. The total number of persons who had used the Internet in the week preceding the 2001 Census was 3632. There were 621 people (6.4%) who had used the Internet at work only, 1762 people (18.2%) who had used the internet at home only and 319 people (3.3%) who had used the internet elsewhere only.

Marital Status: In the 2001 Census, there were 4335 married people (57.9%), 242 separated people (3.2%), 528 divorced people (7.1%), 505 widowed people (6.7%) and 1874 people who had never been married (25.0%).

Education: In the 2001 Census, 285 (3.8%) people (152 males and 133 females) held a postgraduate degree, graduate diploma or graduate certificate; 760 (10.2%) people (343 males and 417 females) held a bachelor degree; 1741 (23.3%) people (1097 males and 644 females) with an advanced diploma, diploma or certificate; and 4697 (62.8%) people (2096 males and 2601 females) did not have a qualification.

Unemployment: In the 2001 Census, 215 people were unemployed, representing 4.3% of the labour force. The labour force participation rate was 80.1%.

Industry Of Employment: In the 2001 Census, 207 (4.3%) people were employed in the Manufacturing industry; 364 (7.6%) people employed in the Construction industry; 659 (13.7%) people employed in the Retail Trade industry; 453 (9.4%) people were employed in the Property and Business Services industry; 323 (6.7%) people employed in the Education industry; and 395 (8.2%) people employed in the Health and Community Services industry.

Income: The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over in the 2001 Census was $400-$499.

Journey To Work: On Census day, 7 August 2001, 3 (0.1%) people travelled to work by train only, 63 (1.3%) people took the bus only and 0 (0.0%) people took both the train and bus. There were 3018 (62.4%) people who travelled to work by car, either as the driver or as a passenger and 283 (5.9%) people either rode a bike or walked to work.

Families: In the 2001 Census, there were 1280 couple families with children (which comprised 47.0% of all families in occupied private dwellings), 1110 couple families without children (40.7%), 313 one parent families (11.5%) and 22 other families (0.8%).

Dwellings: In the 2001 Census, there were 3346 separate houses (92.3%), 120 semi detached, row or terrace houses and townhouses (3.3%), 93 flats, units or apartments (2.6%) and 62 other dwellings (1.7%). Of all occupied private dwellings in the 2001 Census, 2670 were either fully owned or being purchased, which represents (73.6%) of all occupied private dwellings, while 707 (19.5%) were being rented.

Transport Facilities

Yass Valley is serviced by the following transport facilities:

• Hume Highway (National Highway 31)
• Barton Highway (National Highway 25)
• Lachlan Valley Way (State Route 81)
• Main Southern Railway (NSW State Rail Authority)