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City of Merri-bekCommunity profile

City of Merri-bek

Household size

In 2021, 30% of households in the City of Merri-bek contained only one person, compared with 24.8% in Greater Melbourne, 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, the City of Merri-bek'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
City of Merri-bek - Households (Enumerated)20211996Change
Number of persons usually residentNumber%Greater Melbourne %Number%Greater Melbourne %1996 to 2021
1 person20,05129.524.812,90826.322.5+7,143
2 persons22,26932.831.315,99232.630.4+6,277
3 persons11,05916.316.98,44417.217.2+2,615
4 persons9,92014.617.26,69213.618.0+3,228
5 persons3,1504.66.63,1016.38.4+49
6 or more persons1,4132.13.21,8913.93.6-478
Total classifiable households67,862100.0100.049,028100.0100.0+18,834
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 1996 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Household size - Summary
City of Merri-bek - Enumerated20211996Change
DwellingsNumber%Greater Melbourne %Number%Greater Melbourne %1996 to 2021
Occupied private dwellings70,629----50,272----+20,357
Persons in occupied private dwellings167,479----127,798----+39,681
Average household size (persons per dwelling)2.37--2.582.54--2.70-0.17
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 1996 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 the City of Merri-bek compared with Greater Melbourne shows that there were a higher proportion of lone person households, and a lower proportion of larger households (those with 4 persons or more). Overall there were 29.5% of lone person households, and 21.3% of larger households, compared with 24.8% and 27.0% respectively for Greater Melbourne.

The major differences in the household size for the City of Merri-bek and Greater Melbourne were:

  • A larger percentage of households with 1 person usually resident (29.5% compared to 24.8%)
  • A larger percentage of households with 2 persons usually resident (32.8% compared to 31.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of households with 4 persons usually resident (14.6% compared to 17.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of households with 5 persons usually resident (4.6% compared to 6.6%)

Emerging groups

The number of households in City of Merri-bek increased by 18,834 between 1996 and 2021.

The largest changes in the number of persons usually resident in a household in the City of Merri-bek between 1996 and 2021 were:

  • 1 person (+7,143 households)
  • 2 persons (+6,277 households)
  • 4 persons (+3,228 households)
  • 3 persons (+2,615 households)

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