Townsville · Sub-region (SA3)

Family & Households in Townsville

How families and households are made up across the area.

A rising number of single-person households has shaped Townsville since 2011, with 26.1% of homes now housing just one person. This shift occurs alongside a high rate of one-parent families, which are far more common here than in most similar areas.

Open map →
📍 Townsville, Sub-region (SA3)

Where Townsville sits — Average household size

2.5 ▼ -3.8%
  • 1.0: 1 area
  • 1.1: 0 areas
  • 1.2: 0 areas
  • 1.3: 0 areas
  • 1.4: 0 areas
  • 1.5: 1 area
  • 1.6: 0 areas
  • 1.7: 1 area
  • 1.8: 2 areas
  • 1.9: 4 areas
  • 2.0: 3 areas
  • 2.1: 7 areas
  • 2.2: 17 areas
  • 2.3: 60 areas
  • 2.4: 55 areas
  • 2.5: 57 areas
  • 2.6: 43 areas
  • 2.7: 19 areas
  • 2.8: 27 areas
  • 2.9: 16 areas
  • 3.0: 13 areas
  • 3.1: 6 areas
  • 3.2: 5 areas
  • 3.3: 2 areas
  • 3.4: 1 area
  • 3.5: 1 area
  • 3.6: 0 areas
  • 3.7: 0 areas
  • 3.8: 1 area
  • 3.9: 0 areas
  • 4.0: 1 area

All sub-region (sa3) areas, 2021. The marker is Townsville — higher than 57% of areas.

Average household size compared with the state and national average
Townsville2.5
Rest of Qld 2.5
Queensland 2.5
Australia 2.5

Households

Average household size.

Typical homes in Townsville hold 2.5 people, which is about the same as the state and national figures. While two-person households are the most common at 35.2%, the proportion of people living alone has risen by 4.1 percentage points since 2011.

2.5 ▼ -3.8%

Higher than 57% of sub-region (sa3) areas.

  • 2011: 2.6
  • 2016: 2.6
  • 2021: 2.5

Average number of people usually resident per household.

26.1% ▲ +18.7%

Lower than 54% of sub-region (sa3) areas.

  • 2011: 22.0%
  • 2016: 23.9%
  • 2021: 26.1%

Share of households that are a single person living alone.

Household size

View on map →

In Townsville, the largest group is 2 people at 35%, followed by 1 person (26%) and 3 people (16%).

Families

Family types and one-parent families.

One-parent families make up 17.4% of the local total, a figure well above the Australian average of 14.1%. This is a growing trend in the area, having risen 1.8 percentage points since 2011.

17.4% ▲ +11.5%

Higher than 85% of sub-region (sa3) areas.

  • 2011: 15.6%
  • 2016: 16.9%
  • 2021: 17.4%

Share of people who live in one-parent families.

Family composition

View on map →

In Townsville, Couples with children is the majority at 54%; Couples without children is next at 28%.

Sources

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

More for Townsville

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Family & Households in Townsville [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sa3/31802/townsville/topic/family-households