Adelaide · Council (LGA)

Family & Households in Adelaide

How families and households are made up across the area.

Nearly 44% of people live alone in Adelaide, a figure far above the national average. This gap highlights a city of small households, where the typical home holds fewer people than in most other Australian areas.

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📍 Adelaide, Council (LGA)

Where Adelaide sits — Average household size

1.8 ▼ -5.3%
  • 1.5: 3 areas
  • 1.6: 1 area
  • 1.7: 1 area
  • 1.8: 5 areas
  • 1.9: 5 areas
  • 2.0: 9 areas
  • 2.1: 26 areas
  • 2.2: 77 areas
  • 2.3: 107 areas
  • 2.4: 90 areas
  • 2.5: 83 areas
  • 2.6: 39 areas
  • 2.7: 30 areas
  • 2.8: 18 areas
  • 2.9: 13 areas
  • 3.0: 3 areas
  • 3.1: 9 areas
  • 3.2: 5 areas
  • 3.3: 2 areas
  • 3.4: 4 areas
  • 3.5: 5 areas
  • 3.6: 1 area
  • 3.7: 3 areas
  • 3.8: 2 areas
  • 3.9: 1 area
  • 4.0: 1 area
  • 4.1: 2 areas
  • 4.2: 2 areas
  • 4.3: 0 areas
  • 4.4: 0 areas
  • 4.5: 1 area
  • 4.6: 0 areas
  • 4.7: 0 areas
  • 4.8: 1 area
  • 4.9: 1 area

All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is Adelaide — lower than 99% of areas.

Average household size compared with the state and national average
Adelaide1.8
Greater Adelaide 2.5
South Australia 2.4
Australia 2.5

Households

Average household size.

Homes here are small, with only 1.8 people per dwelling, which is well below the national figure of 2.5. This is driven by a very high number of single-person households, which rose to 44.4% since 2011.

1.8 ▼ -5.3%

Lower than 99% of council (lga) areas.

  • 2011: 1.9
  • 2016: 1.9
  • 2021: 1.8

Average number of people usually resident per household.

44.4% ▲ +5.4%

Higher than 99% of council (lga) areas.

  • 2011: 42.1%
  • 2016: 41.0%
  • 2021: 44.4%

Share of households that are a single person living alone.

Household size

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Adelaide splits fairly evenly between 1 person (44%) and 2 people (40%), with 3 people at 10%.

Families

Family types and one-parent families.

Couples without children make up the largest group at 55.2% of families. One-parent families are much less common here than in most areas, sitting at 10.9%, well below the South Australian figure of 14.8%.

10.9% ▲ +7.3%

Lower than 75% of council (lga) areas.

  • 2011: 10.1%
  • 2016: 11.0%
  • 2021: 10.9%

Share of people who live in one-parent families.

Family composition

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In Adelaide, Couples without children is the majority at 55%; Couples with children is next at 30%.

Sources

  • Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).

More for Adelaide

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Family & Households in Adelaide [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA40070/adelaide/topic/family-households