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AustraliaCommunity profile

Western Australia

Households with children

There are 176,429 couples with young children in Western Australia in 2021, comprising 17.1% of households.

Households with Children require different services and facilities than other household types, and their needs change as both adults and children age. When many families in an area are at the same stage in their individual lifecycles, it creates a suburb lifecycle. Knowing where a suburb is in a cycle of change helps planners make evidence-based decisions about the demand for services both now and in the future.

For Households with Children in Western Australia, life stage is based on the age of children in the household. The age of the parent(s) is not taken into account.

  • Young children: Children aged under 15 only
  • Mixed age children: One or more children under 15 and one or more children over 15 (must have 2 or more children)
  • Older children: Children aged 15 and over only

To continue building the story, Western Australia's Household data should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Age Structure and Dwelling Type.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the person's relationship (to each other person in the household)?'

Households with children by life stage
Western Australia - Households (Enumerated)20212006Change
Households with childrenNumber%New South Wales %Number%New South Wales %2006 to 2021
Couples with children311,15330.230.8229,49530.331.8+81,658
Couples with young children176,42917.116.6126,71016.716.7+49,719
Couples with mixed-age children43,9514.34.335,6514.75.0+8,300
Couples with older children90,7738.89.967,1348.910.1+23,639
Single parents with children102,91510.010.673,9789.810.8+28,937
Single parents with young children40,5253.93.832,2524.34.5+8,273
Single parents with mixed-age children13,0211.31.29,7291.31.3+3,292
Single parents with older children49,3694.85.631,9974.25.0+17,372
Total households with children414,06840.241.5303,47340.042.6+110,595
Total households1,029,762100.0100.0757,994100.0100.0+271,768
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2006 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

Analysis of the families with children in Western Australia in 2021 compared to New South Wales shows that there was a similar proportion of couples with young children, and a smaller proportion of couples with older children.

Overall, 17.1% of total households with children were couple with young children, and 8.8% were couples with older children, compared with 16.6% and 9.9% respectively for New South Wales.

There were a similar proportion of single parent households with young children and a smaller proportion of single parent households with older children. Overall, the proportion of single parent households with young children was 3.9% compared to 3.8% in New South Wales while the proportion of single parent households with older children was 4.8% compared to 5.6% in New South Wales.

Emerging groups

Between 2006 and 2021, the number of households with children increased by 110,595 households or 36.4%.

The largest changes in households with children in this area between 2006 and 2021 were:

  • Couples with young children (+49,719 households)
  • Couples with older children (+23,639 households)
  • Single parents with older children (+17,372 households)
  • Couples with mixed-age children (+8,300 households)

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