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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Western Australia, 20.7% of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 28% in Australia.
Dwelling Type is an important determinant of Western Australia's residential role and function. A greater concentration of higher density dwellings is likely to attract more young adults and smaller households, often renting. Larger, detached or separate dwellings are more likely to attract families and prospective families. The residential built form often reflects market opportunities or planning policy, such as building denser forms of housing around public transport nodes or employment centres.
Dwelling Type statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Household Types, Housing Tenure and Age Structure for a more complete picture of the housing market in Western Australia.
If you're looking at this data to prepare a housing strategy, learn more here.
Q:
Derived from the Census:
'Dwelling Structure is derived from the ABS address register supplemented with information from Census Field Officers.'
| Dwelling structure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Australia - Dwellings (Enumerated) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Australia % | Number | % | Australia % | 2001 to 2021 |
| Separate house | 884,622 | 77.1 | 70.3 | 599,928 | 77.6 | 74.8 | +284,694 |
| Medium density | 182,251 | 15.9 | 17.3 | 124,733 | 16.1 | 16.1 | +57,518 |
| High density | 55,345 | 4.8 | 11.0 | 23,798 | 3.1 | 6.3 | +31,547 |
| Caravans, cabin, houseboat | 17,227 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 14,097 | 1.8 | 1.3 | +3,130 |
| Other | 4,142 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 4,278 | 0.6 | 0.6 | -136 |
| Not stated | 4,285 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 5,941 | 0.8 | 0.9 | -1,656 |
| Total Private Dwellings | 1,147,872 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 772,775 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +375,097 |
| Dwelling type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Australia | 2021 | 2001 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Australia % | Number | % | Australia % | 2001 to 2021 |
| Occupied private dwellings | 1,029,762 | 89.5 | 90.2 | 695,648 | 89.8 | 90.6 | +334,114 |
| Unoccupied private dwellings | 118,109 | 10.3 | 9.6 | 77,129 | 10.0 | 9.2 | +40,980 |
| Non private dwellings | 2,386 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2,109 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +277 |
| Total dwellings | 1,150,257 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 774,886 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +375,371 |
Dominant groups
In 2021, there were 884,622 separate houses in the area, 182,251 medium density dwellings, and 55,345 high density dwellings. In addition, there were 17,227 caravans/cabins/houseboats in the area.
Analysis of the types of dwellings in Western Australia in 2021 shows that 77.1% of all dwellings were separate houses; 15.9% were medium density dwellings, and 4.8% were in high density dwellings, compared with 70.3%, 17.3%, and 11.0% in the Australia respectively.
In 2021, a total of 89.5% of the dwellings in Western Australia were occupied on Census night, compared to 90.2% in Australia. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 10.3%, which is larger compared to that found in Australia (9.6%).
Emerging groups
The total number of dwellings in Western Australia increased by 375,371 between 2001 and 2021.
The largest changes in the type of dwellings found in Western Australia between 2001 and 2021 were:
- Separate house (+284,694 dwellings)
- Medium density (+57,518 dwellings)
- High density (+31,547 dwellings)
- Caravans, cabin, houseboat (+3,130 dwellings)
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