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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Sydney

Household type

In Greater Sydney, 34.4% of households were made up of couples with children in 2021, compared with 30.9% in Victoria.

Greater Sydney's household and family structure is one of the most important demographic indicators. It reveals the area's residential role and function, era of settlement and provides key insights into the level of demand for services and facilities as most are related to age and household types.

To continue building the story, Greater Sydney's Household Summary should be viewed in conjunction with Households with Children, Households without Children, Household Size, Age Structure and Dwelling Type.

If you're looking at this data to prepare a housing strategy, learn more here.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

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

Household type
Greater Sydney - Total households (Enumerated)20212001Change
Households by typeNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2001 to 2021
Couples with children657,94134.430.9513,13635.734.3+144,805
Couples without children445,96423.324.6317,19622.123.7+128,768
One parent families200,17810.510.2149,17010.410.2+51,008
Other families23,4991.21.221,2391.51.4+2,260
Group household76,5584.03.859,3124.13.7+17,246
Lone person424,71722.224.7305,54221.323.0+119,175
Other not classifiable household70,4563.73.756,7433.92.6+13,713
Visitor only households12,3450.61.015,3601.11.1-3,015
Total households1,911,658100.0100.01,437,698100.0100.0+473,960
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2001 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

Analysis of the household/family types in Greater Sydney in 2021 compared to Victoria shows that there was a higher proportion of couple families with child(ren) as well as a similar proportion of one-parent families. Overall, 34.4% of total families were couple families with child(ren), and 10.5% were one-parent families, compared with 30.9% and 10.2% respectively for Victoria.

There were a lower proportion of lone person households and a lower proportion of couples without children. Overall, the proportion of lone person households was 22.2% compared to 24.7% in Victoria while the proportion of couples without children was 23.3% compared to 24.6% in Victoria.

Emerging groups

The number of households in Greater Sydney increased by 473,960 between 2001 and 2021.

The largest changes in family/household types in Greater Sydney between 2001 and 2021 were:

  • Couples with children (+144,805 households)
  • Couples without children (+128,768 households)
  • Lone person (+119,175 households)
  • One parent families (+51,008 households)

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