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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Capital Cities

Household size

In 2021, 24% of households in Greater Capital Cities contained only one person, compared with 25.6% in Australia, with the most dominant household size being 2 persons 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, Greater Capital Cities'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
Greater Capital Cities - Households (Enumerated)20212016Change
Number of persons usually residentNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
1 person1,461,53424.425.61,218,48623.024.4+243,048
2 persons1,908,58731.933.51,683,20331.833.4+225,384
3 persons1,005,82516.815.9908,13117.116.2+97,694
4 persons998,50416.715.4911,99917.215.9+86,505
5 persons398,2806.76.3379,1807.26.7+19,100
6 or more persons206,4633.53.3198,2063.73.4+8,257
Total classifiable households5,979,193100.0100.05,299,205100.0100.0+679,988
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
Greater Capital Cities - Enumerated20212016Change
DwellingsNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2016 to 2021
Occupied private dwellings6,236,862----5,604,688----+632,174
Persons in occupied private dwellings16,123,638----14,693,542----+1,430,096
Average household size (persons per dwelling)2.59--2.522.62--2.55-0.04
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 Greater Capital Cities compared with Australia shows that there were a lower proportion of lone person households, and a higher proportion of larger households (those with 4 persons or more). Overall there were 24.4% of lone person households, and 26.8% of larger households, compared with 25.6% and 25.0% respectively for Australia.

The major differences in the household size for Greater Capital Cities and Australia were:

  • A larger percentage of households with 4 persons usually resident (16.7% compared to 15.4%)
  • A smaller percentage of households with 2 persons usually resident (31.9% compared to 33.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of households with 1 person usually resident (24.4% compared to 25.6%)

Emerging groups

The number of households in Greater Capital Cities increased by 679,988 between 2016 and 2021.

The largest changes in the number of persons usually resident in a household in Greater Capital Cities between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • 1 person (+243,048 households)
  • 2 persons (+225,384 households)
  • 3 persons (+97,694 households)
  • 4 persons (+86,505 households)

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