In April 2016 the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were single was 47.2% in ‘Cities’, well above the State average of 41.1%.
In ‘Rural areas with high urban influence’, 56.0% of those aged 15 and over were married, 8.2 percentage points higher than the State average of 47.8%.
Overall, 5.9% of people aged 15 and over were divorced or separated in 2016, with the highest rate of 8.0% in ‘Independent urban towns’.
‘Highly rural/remote areas’ had the greatest proportion of widowed people at 7.2% in 2016, followed by ‘Rural areas with moderate urban influence’ at 5.9%. ‘Satellite urban towns’ had the lowest proportion of widows and widowers at 4.0% while the average in the State was 5.2%.
| Single | Married | Separated/ Divorced | Widowed | |
| Cities | 47.2 | 42.3 | 5.6 | 4.9 |
| Satellite urban towns | 38.5 | 50.7 | 6.7 | 4 |
| Independent urban towns | 42.7 | 43.7 | 8 | 5.6 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 34.6 | 56 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 35.4 | 53.8 | 4.8 | 5.9 |
| Highly rural/remote areas | 37 | 49.9 | 5.8 | 7.2 |
| State | 41.1 | 47.8 | 5.9 | 5.2 |
At least half of all people aged between 35 and 79 years were married in 2016, and this was true across all area types, Figure 3.2.
‘Rural areas with high urban influence’ had the highest marriage rates among those aged 30 and over, peaking at 78.0% in the 50-54 year age group.
| X-axis label | Cities | Satellite urban towns | Independent urban towns | Rural areas with high urban influence | Rural areas with moderate urban influence | Highly rural/remote areas | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-19 years | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 20-24 years | 2.6 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| 25-29 years | 13.9 | 17.0 | 17.9 | 11.8 | 12.3 | 13.0 | 14.6 |
| 30-34 years | 35.6 | 47.1 | 42.0 | 46.7 | 45.1 | 40.9 | 40.8 |
| 35-39 years | 51.2 | 63.4 | 54.4 | 67.8 | 65.4 | 59.0 | 58.0 |
| 40-44 years | 57.7 | 68.3 | 57.8 | 75.4 | 72.5 | 65.0 | 64.7 |
| 45-49 years | 61.3 | 69.1 | 58.1 | 77.3 | 73.6 | 67.2 | 66.9 |
| 50-54 years | 63.4 | 69.2 | 59.0 | 78.0 | 74.0 | 67.5 | 68.0 |
| 55-59 years | 65.1 | 69.6 | 60.4 | 77.6 | 74.3 | 68.4 | 68.8 |
| 60-64 years | 65.6 | 69.8 | 62.0 | 77.1 | 74.4 | 68.9 | 69.2 |
| 65-69 years | 65.4 | 69.5 | 62.6 | 75.3 | 71.9 | 66.8 | 68.2 |
| 70-74 years | 63.3 | 66.7 | 60.4 | 70.3 | 66.6 | 62.8 | 64.7 |
| 75-79 years | 55.7 | 57.1 | 52.0 | 59.1 | 57.0 | 53.2 | 55.6 |
| 80-84 years | 43.9 | 44.5 | 40.0 | 44.8 | 42.7 | 40.2 | 42.8 |
| 85 years and over | 25.0 | 23.8 | 21.9 | 24.3 | 23.9 | 23.4 | 23.9 |
The marital breakdown rate for the State was 11.0% in 2016, calculated as the number of separated and divorced people as a proportion of those who were ever married.
The rate was highest in ‘Independent urban towns’ at 15.5% and lowest in ‘Rural areas with high urban influence’ at 7.4%.
| X-axis label | Marital breakdown rate |
|---|---|
| Cities | 11.8 |
| Satellite urban towns | 11.7 |
| Independent urban towns | 15.5 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 7.4 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 8.3 |
| Highly rural/remote areas | 10.4 |
| State | 11 |
The percentage of people living alone increased with age in 2016, at 26.7% of those aged 65 and over and 44.9% of those aged 85 and over. ‘Rural areas with high urban influence’ had the lowest rates for people living alone, at 21.0% of those aged 65 and over and 38% of those aged 85 and over. In contrast, the highest rates for people living alone were in ‘Independent urban towns’, at 31.2% of those aged 65 and over and 50.1% of those aged 85 and over, see Figure 3.4.
There were more females living alone than males in each area type, mainly because women live longer. The highest proportions of females living alone were in ‘Independent urban towns’ at 36.9% for those aged 65 and over and 58.3% for those aged 85 and over.
The lowest proportions of females living alone were in ‘Rural areas with high urban influence’ at 24.5% for those aged 65 and over and 43.6% for those aged 85 and over, while 'Highly rural/remote areas' reported the highest proportion of males living alone in both age categories (see Figure 3.4)
| 65 Years and over | 85 Years and over | |
| State - All | 26.7 | 44.9 |
| Highly rural/remote areas - All | 29.7 | 44.8 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence - All | 24.9 | 41.8 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence - All | 21 | 38 |
| Independent urban towns - All | 31.2 | 50.1 |
| Satellite urban towns - All | 24.7 | 46.3 |
| Cities - All | 27.6 | 46.7 |
| State - Female | 31.5 | 51.8 |
| Highly rural/remote areas - Female | 24.7 | 46.3 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence - Female | 27.7 | 47.2 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence - Female | 24.5 | 43.6 |
| Independent urban towns - Female | 36.9 | 58.3 |
| Satellite urban towns - Female | 30.9 | 53.9 |
| Cities - Female | 33.7 | 54.6 |
| State - Male | 21.3 | 32.9 |
| Highly rural/remote areas - Male | 27 | 36.3 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence - Male | 22 | 32.9 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence - Male | 17.4 | 29.1 |
| Independent urban towns - Male | 24.5 | 34.8 |
| Satellite urban towns - Male | 17.7 | 32.6 |
| Cities - Male | 20.1 | 32.2 |
Households consisting of a ‘couple with children’ were the most frequent household type in both 2011 and 2016.
‘Rural areas with high urban influence’ had the highest proportion of ‘couple with children’ households in 2016 at 45.3%, while ‘Cities’ were the lowest at 29.3% and the State average was 35.2%.
'Rural areas with high urban influence' recorded the highest percentage of households comprising of 'couples without children' at 20.6%, while the State average was 19.0%.
About three in ten households (29.2%) in ‘Highly rural/remote areas’ consisted of one person, the highest rate in the State, while the lowest rate was 18.1% in ‘Rural areas with high urban influence’.
Figure 3.5 illustrates the number of children in a family as a proportion of all families in each of the six area types.
One child families were most prominent in 'Independent urban towns' (30.5%) while 2 children families are most common in 'Satellite urban towns' (28.5%).
Of the families with children, it is evident from figure 3.6 that 'Satellite urban towns' and 'Independent urban towns' consist of a greater proportion of young families with all children under 15 years of age at 53.7% (63,785 families) and 51.2% (73,223) respectively. 'Highly rural/remote areas' had a greater proportion of families (44.2%) with all children ages 15 years and over than any other area type.
| X-axis label | No child | One child families | Two child families | Three child families | Four child families | Five or more child families |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cities | 31.2 | 29.3 | 24.5 | 10.9 | 3.1 | 1.1 |
| Satellite urban towns | 25.7 | 28.2 | 28.5 | 13 | 3.5 | 1 |
| Independent urban towns | 28.3 | 30.5 | 25.4 | 11.1 | 3.5 | 1.3 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 27.5 | 24.9 | 26.4 | 15.2 | 4.7 | 1.3 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 29 | 26.1 | 24.3 | 14.2 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
| Highly rural/ remote areas | 32.1 | 27.2 | 22.2 | 12.3 | 4.6 | 1.6 |
| X-axis label | All children aged under 15 years | All children aged 15 years and over | Children both under and over 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| State | 47.1 | 38.1 | 14.8 |
| Cities | 46.8 | 39.4 | 13.7 |
| Satellite urban towns | 53.7 | 31.7 | 14.6 |
| Independent urban towns | 51.2 | 33.7 | 15.1 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 45 | 39.4 | 15.6 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 42.6 | 41.5 | 15.9 |
| Highly rural/ remote areas | 40.4 | 44.2 | 15.5 |
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.