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City of AdelaideCommunity profile

South West Overlay

Household size

In 2021, 45% of households in South West Overlay contained only one person, compared with 44.4% in the City of Adelaide, with the most dominant household size being 1 person per household.

The size of households in general follows the life-cycle of families. Households are usually small at the stage of relationship formation (early marriage), and then increase in size with the advent of children. They later reduce in size again as these children reach adulthood and leave home. Household size can also be influenced by a lack (or abundance) of affordable housing. Overseas migrants and indigenous persons often have a tradition of living with extended family members which significantly affects household size.

Household size in Australia has generally declined since the 1970s, but the rate of decline has slowed in recent years.

An increasing household size in an area may indicate a lack of affordable housing opportunities for young people, an increase in the birth rate or an increase in family formation in the area. A declining household size may indicate children leaving the area when they leave home, an increase in retirees settling in the area, or an attraction of young singles and couples to the area.

For greater insight, South West Overlay's Household Size data should be viewed in conjunction with Household Summary, Age Structure, Dwelling Type, Household Income and Language Spoken at Home.

Q:

Derived from the three Census questions:

'Name of each person including visitors who spent the night of Tuesday, 10 August 2021 in this dwelling', and 'Where does the person usually live?', and 'Name of each person who usually lives in this dwelling but was away on Tuesday, 10 August 2021.'

Household size
South West Overlay - Households (Enumerated)20212016Change
Number of persons usually residentNumber%City of Adelaide %Number%City of Adelaide %2016 to 2021
1 person88045.444.463542.941.0+245
2 persons72737.539.552735.638.7+200
3 persons21511.110.317311.712.4+41
4 persons904.64.41077.35.9-18
5 persons241.21.0241.71.5-1
6 or more persons40.20.4130.90.5-9
Total classifiable households1,940100.0100.01,481100.0100.0+459
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Household size - Summary
South West Overlay - Enumerated20212016Change
DwellingsNumber%City of Adelaide %Number%City of Adelaide %2016 to 2021
Occupied private dwellings2,110----1,651----+459
Persons in occupied private dwellings3,730----3,117----+613
Average household size (persons per dwelling)1.77--1.771.89--1.84-0.12
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

The 'Dwellings' table is enumerated data.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the number of persons usually resident in a household in South West Overlay compared with the City of Adelaide shows that there were a higher proportion of lone person households, and a similar proportion of larger households (those with 4 persons or more). Overall there were 45.4% of lone person households, and 6.1% of larger households, compared with 44.4% and 5.8% respectively for the City of Adelaide.

The major difference in the household size for South West Overlay and the City of Adelaide was:

  • A smaller percentage of households with 2 persons usually resident (37.5% compared to 39.5%)

Emerging groups

The number of households in South West Overlay increased by 459 between 2016 and 2021.

The largest changes in the number of persons usually resident in a household in South West Overlay between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • 1 person (+245 households)
  • 2 persons (+200 households)

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