Using data from Census 2022, the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were single was 48.5% in Cities, where the State average was 42.4%. The proportion of those who were single in rural areas was lower than the State average in each case, ranging from 36.3% in Rural areas with high urban influence to 37.8% in Highly rural/remote areas.
In Rural areas with high urban influence, 54.0% of those aged 15 and over were married or in a civil partnersip, 7.6 percentage points higher than the State average of 46.4%. Across urban areas, Satellite urban towns had the highest proportion of those aged 15 and over who were married or in a civil partnership, at 49.1%.
Overall, 6.1% of people aged 15 and over were separated or divorced in 2022, with the highest proportion of 8.2% in Independent urban towns.
Highly rural/remote areas had the greatest proportion of widowed people at 6.8% in 2022, followed by Rural areas with moderate urban influence at 5.7%. Satellite urban towns had the lowest proportion of widows and widowers at 4.0%, while the average in the State was 5.1%.
| Type of urban or rural area | Single | Married or Civil Partnership | Separated/Divorced | Widowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cities | 48.5 | 41 | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| Satellite urban towns | 40.1 | 49.1 | 6.7 | 4 |
| Independent urban towns | 43.9 | 42.3 | 8.2 | 5.5 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 36.3 | 54 | 4.8 | 5 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 36.7 | 52.4 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| Highly rural/remote areas | 37.8 | 49.3 | 6.1 | 6.8 |
| State | 42.4 | 46.4 | 6.1 | 5.1 |
More than half of all people aged between 40 and 79 years were married in 2022, 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 35 and over, peaking at 76.0% in the 55-59 year age group.
| Type of urban or rural area | Cities | Satellite urban towns | Independent urban towns | Rural areas with high urban influence | Rural areas with moderate urban influence | Highly rural/remote areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 - 19 years | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 - 24 years | 2 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| 25 - 29 years | 11.3 | 12.9 | 14 | 8.3 | 7.7 | 8.8 |
| 30 - 34 years | 30.7 | 39 | 35.2 | 36.1 | 34.3 | 32 |
| 35 - 39 years | 48.2 | 59 | 50.5 | 61.6 | 59.4 | 54.1 |
| 40 - 44 years | 55.6 | 66.5 | 56 | 71.5 | 68.1 | 62.8 |
| 45 - 49 years | 59 | 68.3 | 57.9 | 74.9 | 72.2 | 65.3 |
| 50 -54 years | 60.7 | 68.3 | 56.9 | 75.9 | 72.2 | 65.6 |
| 55 - 59 years | 62.3 | 68 | 57.2 | 76 | 72.4 | 66.7 |
| 60 - 64 years | 63.5 | 68.1 | 58.6 | 75.4 | 72.5 | 67.3 |
| 65 - 69 years | 63.2 | 67.1 | 58.9 | 74.7 | 72.1 | 67.1 |
| 70 - 74 years | 61.5 | 66 | 58.7 | 71.1 | 68.7 | 64.2 |
| 75-79 years | 57.6 | 61.3 | 54.6 | 64.5 | 61.1 | 58.4 |
| 80 - 84 years | 47.8 | 49.3 | 44.4 | 50.8 | 49 | 47.8 |
| 85 years and over | 29.7 | 29.8 | 26.1 | 30.6 | 29.9 | 28.9 |
The marital breakdown rate for the State was 11.6% in 2022, calculated as the number of separated or divorced people as a proportion of those who were ever married, excluding those who were widowed.
The rate was highest in Independent urban towns at 16.2% and lowest in Rural areas with high urban influence at 8.1%.
| X-axis label | Marital breakdown rate |
|---|---|
| Cities | 12.3 |
| Satellite urban towns | 12 |
| Independent urban towns | 16.2 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 8.1 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 9.1 |
| Highly rural/remote areas | 11 |
| State | 11.6 |
In 2022, the percentage of people living alone was 25.9% for those aged 65 and over and 44.1% for those aged 85 and over. Rural areas with high urban influence had the lowest rates for people living alone, at 20.4% of those aged 65 and over and 38.1% of those aged 85 and over. In contrast, the highest rates for people living alone were in Independent urban towns, at 31.3% of those aged 65 and over and 49.3% of those aged 85 and over, see Figure 3.4.
There were more females living alone than males in each area type. The highest proportions of females living alone were in Independent urban towns at 36.4% for those aged 65 and over and 58.0% for those aged 85 and over.
The lowest proportions of females living alone were in Rural areas with high urban influence at 23.3% for those aged 65 and over and 44.8% 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)
| Type of urban or rural area | % 65 years and over living alone | % 85 years and over living alone |
|---|---|---|
| State - All | 25.9 | 44.1 |
| Cities - All | 26.9 | 45.7 |
| Satellite urban towns - All | 24.2 | 43.4 |
| Independent urban towns - All | 31.3 | 49.3 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence - All | 20.4 | 38.1 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence - All | 23.8 | 41.3 |
| Highly rural/remote areas - All | 28.1 | 44.1 |
| State - Female | 30.2 | 52 |
| Cities - Female | 32.3 | 54.2 |
| Satellite urban towns - Female | 29.7 | 52 |
| Independent urban towns - Female | 36.4 | 58 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence - Female | 23.3 | 44.8 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence - Female | 26.2 | 48.3 |
| State - Male | 21.3 | 32.1 |
| Highly rural/remote areas - Female | 30.3 | 50.4 |
| Cities - Male | 20.3 | 31.7 |
| Satellite urban towns - Male | 17.9 | 30.2 |
| Independent urban towns - Male | 25.4 | 34.9 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence - Male | 17.4 | 29.1 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence - Male | 21.4 | 31.8 |
| Highly rural/remote areas - Male | 25.9 | 35.2 |
Households consisting of a couple with children were the most frequent household type in both 2016 and 2022.
Rural areas with high urban influence had the highest proportion of ‘couple with children’ households in 2022 at 43.2%, while Cities were the lowest at 28.0%, the State average was 33.7%, having fell from 35.2% in 2016.
Highly rural/remote areas recorded the highest percentage of households comprising of 'couples without children' at 21.4%, while the State average was 19.2%.
Just under three in ten households (28.7%) in Highly rural/remote areas consisted of one person, the highest rate in the State, while the lowest rate was 18.2% in Rural areas with high urban influence. For the State, the prevalence of one-person households was 23.1% in 2022, down from 23.5% in 2016.
Table 3.3 and Figure 3.5 illustrate 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 common in Independent urban towns (29.6%) while two-child families were most common in Satellite urban towns (28.9%). Families with three or more children, were more common in rural areas.
Of the families with children, Table 3.4 and Figure 3.6 show that Satellite urban towns (47.7%) and Independent urban towns (45.7%) consisted of a greater proportion of young families where all children were under 15 years of age. Highly rural/remote areas had a greater proportion of families (45.8%) where all children were aged 15 years and over than any other area type.
| No Children | One-child families | Two-child families | Three-child families | Four-child families | Five or more children | |
| Cities | 33.2 | 28 | 24.5 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 0.9 |
| Satellite urban towns | 27 | 27.3 | 28.9 | 12.7 | 3.2 | 0.8 |
| Independent urban towns | 29.1 | 29.6 | 25.5 | 11.2 | 3.3 | 1.2 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 29 | 24.5 | 26.2 | 14.9 | 4.3 | 1 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 31.1 | 25.3 | 24.1 | 13.9 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| Highly rural/remote areas | 34.1 | 26.1 | 22 | 12.2 | 4.3 | 1.3 |
| State | 30.8 | 27.1 | 25.3 | 12.3 | 3.5 | 1 |
| X-axis label | All children aged under 15 years | All children aged 15 years and over | Children both under and over 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| State | 43.2 | 41.1 | 15.7 |
| Cities | 44 | 41.6 | 14.4 |
| Satellite urban towns | 47.7 | 35.9 | 16.4 |
| Independent urban towns | 45.7 | 37.6 | 16.7 |
| Rural areas with high urban influence | 40.6 | 43.2 | 16.2 |
| Rural areas with moderate urban influence | 39.3 | 44.6 | 16.1 |
| Highly rural/remote areas | 38.5 | 45.8 | 15.7 |
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