England and Wales Census 2021 - RM060: Household composition and number of bedrooms

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households in England and Wales by household composition and by number of people in household with a disability. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Data about household relationships might not always look consistent with legal partnership status. This is because of complexity of living arrangements and the way people interpreted these questions. Take care when using these two variables together. Read more about this quality notice.

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.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

  • 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 composition

Households according to the relationships between members.

One-family households are classified by:

  • the number of dependent children
  • 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
  • whether the household consists only of students or only of people aged 66 and over

Number of disabled people in household

The number of people in a household who assessed their day-to-day activities as limited by long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses and are considered disabled. This definition of a disabled person meets the harmonised standard for measuring disability and is in line with the Equality Act (2010).

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated April 5, 2023, 15:23 (BST)
Created April 5, 2023, 15:23 (BST)
Visibility Public
Year 2021
Topics Accommodation and housing
Health
Units Households
Geographic Layer Census Electoral Divisions
Census Wards
Countries
Integrated Care Boards
Local Health Boards
Lower Super Output Areas
Lower Tier Local Authorities
Middle Super Output Areas
NHS England Regions
Output Areas
Regions
Sub Integrated Care Board Locations
Upper Tier Local Authorities
Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies
Frequency Decennial
DOI https://doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2021-1
Citation Office for National Statistics; National Records of Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency; UK Data Service. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2021-1
Geographical Coverage Location England and Wales
Granularity Country down to output areas
Geographic Spatial data {"geo_type": "polygon", "lat": "52.4036", "lon": "-1.93872", "left": "-6.53687", "top": "55.8275", "right": "1.98853", "bottom": "49.6694", "srid": null, "accuracy": null, "source": null}