City of Merri-bek
Recent arrivals - Household size
In the City of Merri-bek, 26.0% of recent arrivals were found in households with 2 persons.
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 for recent arrivals may be influenced by the availability of affordable housing, and the prevalence of arrivals staying with extended family, which is common in many areas.
Household size in Australia has declined since the 1970s as families have fewer children and more people live alone due to ageing. Trends differ by area, however.
A comparison with Dwelling Type and Number of Bedrooms data may indicate whether overcrowding is an issue for recently arrived populations.
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.'
People born overseas and arriving in Australia between 2016 and 10 Aug 2021, counted in private dwellings
| Household size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Merri-bek - Recent arrivals | 2016 | ||||||
| Number of persons usually resident | Number | % | [Toggles].[BMACOIIDDisplayLabel] | ||||
| 1 person | 585 | 4.9 | 10.0 | 20001 | |||
| 2 persons | 3,118 | 26.0 | 24.0 | 20002 | |||
| 3 persons | 2,567 | 21.4 | 19.2 | 20003 | |||
| 4 persons | 2,831 | 23.6 | 26.2 | 20004 | |||
| 5 persons | 1,659 | 13.8 | 12.5 | 20005 | |||
| 6 or more persons | 1,228 | 10.2 | 8.0 | 20006 | |||
| Total people in classifiable households | 11,988 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2016 (Enumerated data). Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (opens a new window) (informed decisions).
Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the number of recent arrivals usually resident in a household in the City of Merri-bek, shows that there was a lower proportion of recent arrivals in lone person households, and a higher proportion in larger households (those with 4 persons or more) compared with [Parameter].[BMACOIIDLabel] in 2016. Overall there was 4.9% of recent arrivals in lone person households, and 47.7% of larger households, compared with 10.0% and 46.7% respectively for [Parameter].[BMACOIIDLabel].
The major differences between the household size for recent arrivals in the City of Merri-bek and [Parameter].[BMACOIIDLabel] were:
- A larger percentage of people in households with 6 or more persons usually resident (10.2% compared to 8.0%)
- A larger percentage of people in households with 3 persons usually resident (21.4% compared to 19.2%)
- A smaller percentage of people in households with 1 person usually resident (4.9% compared to 10.0%)
- A smaller percentage of people in households with 4 persons usually resident (23.6% compared to 26.2%)