2.6 —
Higher than 86% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 2.7
- 2021: 2.6
Average number of people usually resident per household.
Greater Melbourne · Capital City
Family & Households in Greater Melbourne
How families and households are made up across the area.
About the same as the national figure, Greater Melbourne sees 2.6 people living in the typical home. While this mirrors the broader trends across Australia, the region has seen a slight drop in household size since 2016. Most homes are occupied by couples, with family units remaining the dominant living arrangement.
2.6
—
- 1.5: 1 area
- 1.6: 0 areas
- 1.7: 1 area
- 1.8: 0 areas
- 1.9: 0 areas
- 2.0: 0 areas
- 2.1: 0 areas
- 2.2: 0 areas
- 2.3: 3 areas
- 2.4: 4 areas
- 2.5: 4 areas
- 2.6: 4 areas
- 2.7: 1 area
- 2.8: 0 areas
- 2.9: 0 areas
- 3.0: 0 areas
- 3.1: 1 area
All capital city areas, 2021. The marker is Greater Melbourne — higher than 86% of areas.
Households
Average household size.
Two-person homes are the most common here at 31.3%. While the number of people living alone rose to 24.8% since 2016, this remains a little below the Victorian average of 25.9%.
24.8% —
Lower than 72% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 23.2%
- 2021: 24.8%
Share of households that are a single person living alone.
Household size
View on map →In Greater Melbourne, the largest group is 2 people at 31%, followed by 1 person (25%) and 4 people (17%).
Families
Family types and one-parent families.
Couples with children make up the largest group at 62% of families. Meanwhile, one-parent families account for 12.9% of the total, which is much lower than most similar areas and a little below the national figure.
12.9% —
Lower than 86% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 13.0%
- 2021: 12.9%
Share of people who live in one-parent families.
Family composition
View on map →In Greater Melbourne, Couples with children is the majority at 62%; Couples without children is next at 24%.
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Greater Melbourne
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Family & Households in Greater Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/gccsa/2GMEL/greater-melbourne/topic/family-households