3.1.4 Household Size
3.1.4 Household size
The changing nature of household patterns is an important consideration for the Plan. In 2002 the average household size was 3.3. In 2006 the average household size had decreased to 2.88. The 2011 Census records an average of 2.8 people per household throughout the county, which rose to 2.84 in 2016 (the state average is 2.75). The National Planning Framework expects that household size is expected to decline to around 2.5 by 2040, while also acknowledging that household sizes in urban areas tend to be smaller than in the suburbs or rural parts of the country.
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Table 3.8 Average Household size (County Kilkenny) |
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|
|
No. of households |
Persons in households |
Average household size |
|
2002 |
25,603 |
75,965 |
3.03 |
|
2006 |
29,651 |
84,973 |
2.88 |
|
2011 |
33,619 |
94,342 |
2.8 |
|
2016 |
34,855 |
99,232 |
2.84 |
Source: CSO 2002, 2006, 2011, 2016
If we examine the urban areas of the County, a similar trend exists but the occupancy rate is lower.
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Table 3.9 Average Household size for aggregate town areas in Co. Kilkenny |
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|
|
No. of households |
Persons in households |
Average household size |
|
2002 |
8,239 |
22,713 |
2.75 |
|
2006 |
11,355 |
29,536 |
2.6 |
|
2011 |
13,250 |
34,089 |
2.57 |
|
2016 |
14,699 |
37,369 |
2.54 |
For the urban areas within the County household size has continued to decrease from 2.75 in 2002 to 2.54 in 2016. For Kilkenny City and the Ferrybank area the average household size in 2016 was 2.57, similar to 2011. This has implications for the amount of zoned land required in these settlements and the range and size of houses to be catered for within the settlements.