Australia
Households with children
There are 1,608,072 couples with young children in Australia in 2021, comprising 16.3948% 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 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, Australia's Household data should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Age Structure and Dwelling Type.
Derived from the Census question:
'What is the person's relationship (to each other person in the household)?'
Households
| Households with children by life stage | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - Households (Enumerated) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
| Households with children | Number | % | Australian Capital Territory % | Number | % | Australian Capital Territory % | 2016 to 2021 | |
| Couples with children | 2,912,503 | 29.7 | 30.8 | 2,687,377 | 30.3 | 31.7 | +225,126 | 18500 |
| Couples with young children | 1,608,072 | 16.4 | 18.6 | 1,470,937 | 16.6 | 19.0 | +137,135 | 18501 |
| Couples with mixed-age children | 406,301 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 371,882 | 4.2 | 3.9 | +34,419 | 18502 |
| Couples with older children | 898,130 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 844,558 | 9.5 | 8.8 | +53,572 | 18503 |
| Single parents with children | 1,033,384 | 10.5 | 9.3 | 919,133 | 10.4 | 9.1 | +114,251 | 18504 |
| Single parents with young children | 382,837 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 339,100 | 3.8 | 3.4 | +43,737 | 18505 |
| Single parents with mixed-age children | 124,875 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 109,745 | 1.2 | 1.0 | +15,130 | 18506 |
| Single parents with older children | 525,672 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 470,288 | 5.3 | 4.7 | +55,384 | 18507 |
| Total households with children | 3,945,887 | 40.2 | 40.1 | 3,606,510 | 40.7 | 40.8 | +339,377 | 18508 |
| Total households | 9,808,408 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 8,861,642 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +946,766 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the families with children in Australia in 2021 compared to Australian Capital Territory shows that there was a smaller proportion of couples with young children, and a larger proportion of couples with older children.
Overall, 16.4% of total households with children were couple with young children, and 9.2% were couples with older children, compared with 18.6% and 8.3% respectively for Australian Capital Territory.
There were a similar proportion of single parent households with young children and a larger proportion of single parent households with older children. Overall, the proportion of single parent households with young children was 3.9% compared to 3.7% in Australian Capital Territory while the proportion of single parent households with older children was 5.4% compared to 4.6% in Australian Capital Territory.
Emerging groups
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of households with children increased by 339,377 households or 9.4%.
The largest changes in households with children in this area between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Couples with young children (+137,135 households)
- Single parents with older children (+55,384 households)
- Couples with older children (+53,572 households)
- Single parents with young children (+43,737 households)