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City of MeltonCommunity profile

In 2021, 17% of households in Harkness contained only one person, compared with 16.5% in the City of Melton, 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, Harkness'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
Harkness - Households (Enumerated)20212016Change
Number of persons usually residentNumber%City of Melton %Number%City of Melton %2016 to 2021
1 person64817.216.541015.316.1+238
2 persons92224.525.375528.226.6+166
3 persons72719.319.453720.019.0+190
4 persons83822.322.654020.122.7+297
5 persons3589.510.02569.69.9+101
6 or more persons2737.26.11836.85.7+90
Total classifiable households3,766100.0100.02,683100.0100.0+1,083
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
Harkness - Enumerated20212016Change
DwellingsNumber%City of Melton %Number%City of Melton %2016 to 2021
Occupied private dwellings4,019----2,900----+1,119
Persons in occupied private dwellings12,403----8,815----+3,588
Average household size (persons per dwelling)3.09--3.053.04--3.02+0.05
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 Harkness compared with the City of Melton 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 17.2% of lone person households, and 39.0% of larger households, compared with 16.5% and 38.8% respectively for the City of Melton.

The major difference in the household size for Harkness and the City of Melton was:

  • A larger percentage of households with 6 or more persons usually resident (7.2% compared to 6.1%)

Emerging groups

The number of households in Harkness increased by 1,083 between 2016 and 2021.

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

  • 4 persons (+297 households)
  • 1 person (+238 households)
  • 3 persons (+190 households)
  • 2 persons (+166 households)

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