In 2024, the average number of people per household in the United Kingdom was 2.35 compared with 2.42 people per household in 1996.

Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates including measures of uncertainty of the number of households by household size, for England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the regions of England.

United Kingdom Average Household Size: Number of People data was reported at 2.390 Person in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.380 Person for 2015. United Kingdom Average Household Size: Number of People data is updated yearly, averaging 2.370 Person from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.420 Person in 1996 and a record low of 2.360 Person in 2012. United Kingdom Average Household Size: Number of People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

As of 2024, there were estimated to be almost *** million two-person households in the United Kingdom, the most of any household size that year. In the same year, there were *** million three-person households, while around *** million people lived alone.

Retirement Notice: This item is in mature support as of November 2025 and will be retired in December 2026. A replacement item has not been identified at this time. Esri recommends updating your maps and apps to phase out use of this item. This map shows the average household size in United Kingdom in 2023, in a multiscale map (United Kingdom, Country, Region, County, District, Lower Super Output Area, and Census Output Area). Nationally, the average household size is 2.4 people per household. It is calculated by dividing the household population by total households.The pop-up is configured to show the following information at each geography level:Average household size (people per household)Total populationTotal householdsCount of household by typeCount of population by 15-year age increments The source of this data is Michael Bauer Research. The vintage of the data is 2023. This item was last updated in February, 2024 and is updated every 12-18 months as new annual figures are offered.Additional Esri Resources:Esri DemographicsThis item is for visualization purposes only and cannot be exported or used in analysis.We would love to hear from you. If you have any feedback regarding this item or Esri Demographics, please let us know.Permitted use of this data is covered in the DATA section of the Esri Master Agreement (E204CW) and these supplemental terms.

% of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Couple: No Children data was reported at 28.686 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 28.332 % for 2015. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Couple: No Children data is updated yearly, averaging 28.525 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29.048 % in 2005 and a record low of 27.437 % in 1996. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Couple: No Children data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

% of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Couple: Non-Dependent data was reported at 6.537 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.558 % for 2015. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Couple: Non-Dependent data is updated yearly, averaging 6.436 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.296 % in 1996 and a record low of 6.106 % in 2008. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Couple: Non-Dependent data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

% of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Loan Parent: Non-Depen data was reported at 3.618 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.743 % for 2015. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Loan Parent: Non-Depen data is updated yearly, averaging 3.157 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.743 % in 2015 and a record low of 2.888 % in 2002. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Loan Parent: Non-Depen data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

Dataset population: Persons/Households/Household spaces

Household size

The size of a household is equal to the number of usual residents in the household. Visitors staying at an address do not contribute to that household's size because they are counted in the household of their place of usual residence.

This statistic displays the share of households in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017/18, by household type. 21.2 percent of the households in the UK consisted of two adults without children. This was the most common type of household in the UK in 2017/18, whilst only 2.8 percent of households had three or more adults with children which was the least common type of household.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by single year of age. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Household size

The number of people in the household.

Visitors staying at an address do not count to that household’s size. ally classified as upper tier local authorities.

% of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Loan Parent: Dependent data was reported at 6.501 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.805 % for 2015. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Loan Parent: Dependent data is updated yearly, averaging 6.950 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.302 % in 2010 and a record low of 6.436 % in 1997. % of Household: by Type: 1 Family Households: Loan Parent: Dependent data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

Retirement Notice: This item is in mature support as of November 2025 and will be retired in December 2026. A replacement item has not been identified at this time. Esri recommends updating your maps and apps to phase out use of this item. This layer shows the average household size in United Kingdom in 2023, in a multiscale map (United Kingdom, Country, Region, County, District, Lower Super Output Area, and Census Output Area). Nationally, the average household size is 2.4 people per household. It is calculated by dividing the household population by total households.The pop-up is configured to show the following information at each geography level:Average household size (people per household)Total populationTotal householdsCount of household by typeCount of population by 15-year age increments The source of this data is Michael Bauer Research. The vintage of the data is 2023. This item was last updated in February, 2024 and is updated every 12-18 months as new annual figures are offered.Additional Esri Resources:Esri DemographicsThis item is for visualization purposes only and cannot be exported or used in analysis.We would love to hear from you. If you have any feedback regarding this item or Esri Demographics, please let us know.Permitted use of this data is covered in the DATA section of the Esri Master Agreement (E204CW) and these supplemental terms.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents median household incomes for various household sizes in England, AR, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in median household income with the size of the family unit, offering valuable insights into economic trends and disparities within different household sizes, aiding in data analysis and decision-making.

Key observations

• Of the 7 household sizes (1 person to 7-or-more person households) reported by the census bureau, England did not include 5, 6, or 7-person households. Across the different household sizes in England the mean income is $58,968, and the standard deviation is $35,263. The coefficient of variation (CV) is 59.80%. This high CV indicates high relative variability, suggesting that the incomes vary significantly across different sizes of households.
• In the most recent year, 2023, The smallest household size for which the bureau reported a median household income was 1-person households, with an income of $35,284. It then further decreased to 32,222 for 4-person households, the largest household size for which the bureau reported a median household income.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Household Sizes:

• 1-person households
• 2-person households
• 3-person households
• 4-person households
• 5-person households
• 6-person households
• 7-or-more-person households

Variables / Data Columns

• Household Size: This column showcases 7 household sizes ranging from 1-person households to 7-or-more-person households (As mentioned above).
• Median Household Income: Median household income, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific household size.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for England median household income. You can refer the same here

Tenure and household size by number of rooms. Census Area Statistics Table CAS051 Source: Census 2001 Publisher: Nomis Geographies: Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA), Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA), Local Authority District (LAD), Government Office Region (GOR), National, Parliamentary Constituency, Urban area Geographic coverage: England and Wales Time coverage: 2001 Type of data: Survey (census)

This statistic displays the average number of individuals per household in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017/18, by decile. Households in the bottom decile had, on average, 2.1 individuals. This was the lowest number of individuals of any decile group. Households in the fifht, eighth and ninth decile had, on average, 2.5 individuals. This was the highest number of individuals among the decile groups.

% of Household: by Type: Multi-Family Households data was reported at 1.192 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.091 % for 2015. % of Household: by Type: Multi-Family Households data is updated yearly, averaging 0.835 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.192 % in 2016 and a record low of 0.662 % in 1997. % of Household: by Type: Multi-Family Households data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.H027: Number of Households, Household Size and Type.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for the Household Size in Scotland.

Household

A household is defined as:

one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room, or dining area This includes:

all sheltered accommodation units in an establishment (irrespective of whether there are other communal facilities), and all people living in caravans on any type of site that is their usual residence; this will include anyone who has no other usual residence elsewhere in the UK A household must contain at least one person whose place of usual residence is at the address. A group of short-term residents living together is not classified as a household, and neither is a group of people at an address where only visitors are staying.

The quality assurance report can be found here

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households with usual residents in England and Wales by various household characteristics, including variations in tenure by household size, household family composition, multi-generational households, and household level information on the age, ethnic group, religion, employment status and occupation of household members. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

These datasets are part of Household characteristics by tenure, England and Wales: Census 2021, a release of results from the 2021 Census for England and Wales. Figures may differ slightly in future releases because of the impact of removing rounding and applying further statistical processes.

Total counts for some household groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of households' data. Household counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 were suppressed; this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.

This dataset uses middle layer super output area (MSOA) and lower layer super output area (LSOA) geography boundaries as of 2021 and local authority district geography boundaries as of 2022.

In this dataset, the number of households in an area is broken down by different variables and categories. If you were to sum the counts of households by each variable and category, it may not sum to the total of households in that area. This is because of rounding, suppression and that some tables only include data for certain household groups.

In this dataset, variables may have different categories for different geography levels. When variables are broken down by more categories, they may not sum to the total of the higher level categories due to rounding and suppression.

Social rent is not separated into “housing association, housing co-operative, charitable trust, registered social landlord” and “council or local authority districts” because of respondent error in identifying the type of landlord. This is particularly clear in results for areas which have no local authority districts housing stock, but there are households responding as having a “council or local authority districts” landlord type. Estimates are likely to be accurate when the social rent category is combined.

The Census Quality and Methodology Information report contains important information on:

• the uses and users of the census data
• the strengths and limitations of the census data
• the quality characteristics of the census data
• the methods used to produce the census data

Quality notes can be found here

Housing quality information for Census 2021 can be found here

Household

A household is defined as one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and a living room, sitting room or dining area. This includes all sheltered accommodation units in an establishment (irrespective of whether there are other communal facilities) and all people living in caravans on any type of site that is their usual residence; this will include anyone who has no other usual residence elsewhere in the UK. A household must contain at least one person whose place of usual residence is at the address. A group of short-term residents living together is not classified as a household, and neither is a group of people at an address where only visitors are staying.

Usual resident

For Census 2021, a usual resident of the UK is anyone who, on Census Day, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

Household reference person (HRP)

A person who serves as a reference point, mainly based on economic activity and age, to characterize a whole household. The person is not necessarily the member of the household in whose name the accommodation is owned or rented.

Tenure

Whether a household owns or rents the accommodation that it occupies. Owner-occupied accommodation can be: owned outright, which is where the household owns all of the accommodation; owned with a mortgage or loan; or part owned on a shared ownership scheme. Rented accommodation can be private rented, for example, rented through a private landlord or letting agent; social rented through a local council or housing association; or lived in rent free, which is where the household does not own the accommodation and does not pay rent to live there, for example living in a relative or friend’s property or live-in carers or nannies. This information is not available for household spaces with no usual residents.

_Household size _

The number of usual residents in the household.

Household family composition

Households according to the relationships between members. Single-family households are classified by the number of dependent children and family type (married, civil partnership or cohabiting couple family, or lone parent family). Other households are classified by the number of people, the number of dependent children and whether the household consists only of students or only of people aged 66 years and over.

Multi-generational households

Households where people from across more than two generations of the same family live together. This includes households with grandparents and grandchildren whether or not the intervening generation also live in the household.

_Household combination of resident age _

Classifies households by the ages of household members on 21 March 2021. Households could be made up of residents aged 15 years and under; residents aged 16 to 64 years; residents aged 65 years and over; or a combination of these.

Ethnic group

The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity or physical appearance. Respondents could choose one out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options. For more information, see ONS's Ethnic group, England and Wales: Census 2021 bulletin

Household combination of resident ethnic group

Classifies households by the ethnic groups household members identified with.

Religion

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practice or have belief in it. This question was voluntary and includes people who identified with one of 8 tick-box response options, including 'No religion', alongside those who chose not to answer this question. For more information, see ONS's Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 bulletin

Household combination of resident religion

Classifies households by the religious affiliation of household members who chose to answer the religion question. The classifications may include residents who did not answer the religion question.

Household combination of resident employment status

Classifies households by the employment status of household members aged 16 years and over between 15 and 21 March 2021. Households could be made up of employed residents (employee or self-employed); unemployed residents (looking for work and could start within two weeks, or waiting to start a job that had been offered and accepted); economically inactive residents (unemployed and had not looked for work between 22 February to 21 March 2021, or could not start work within two weeks); or a combination of these.

Occupation

"Classifies what people aged 16 years and over do as their main job. Their job title or details of activities they do in their job and any supervisory or management responsibilities form this classification. This information is used to code responses to an occupation using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2020. It classifies people who were in employment between 15 March and 21 March 2021, by the SOC code that represents their current occupation. The lowest level of detail available is the four-digit SOC code which includes all codes in three, two and one digit SOC code levels. Occupation classifications include :

• manager, director or senior official occupations (such as Elected Representatives and Senior Police Officers)
• professional occupations (such as Doctors and Teachers)
• associate professional and technical occupations (such as Police Officers and Counsellors)
• administrative or secretarial occupations (such as Office Managers and Receptionists)
• skilled trade occupations (such as Electricians and Chefs)
• caring, leisure or other service occupations (such as Teaching Assistants and Home Carers)
• sales and customer service occupations (such as Cashiers and Shopkeepers)
• process, plant and machine operatives (such as Bus Drivers and Scaffolders)
• elementary occupations (such as Postal Workers and Waiters)"

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households in Northern Ireland, with at least one usual resident, by household size. It also includes an estimate of the number of usual residents living in households and average household size. The estimates are as at census day, 21 March 2021.

The census collected information on the usually resident population of Northern Ireland on census day (21 March 2021). Initial contact letters or questionnaire packs were delivered to every household and communal establishment, and residents were asked to complete online or return the questionnaire with information as correct on census day. Special arrangements were made to enumerate special groups such as students, members of the Travellers Community, HM Forces personnel etc. The Census Coverage Survey (an independent doorstep survey) followed between 12 May and 29 June 2021 and was used to adjust the census counts for under-enumeration.

Average household size is a calculation of the usually resident population living in households divided by the number of households.

The quality assurance report can be found here