Economic standard of living

Household crowding

Definition

The proportion of the population living in crowded housing (ie requiring one or more additional bedrooms, as defined by the Canadian Crowding Index).

RelevanceTop

Housing space adequate to the needs and desires of a family is a core component of quality of life. National and international studies show an association between the prevalence of certain infectious diseases and crowding27, between crowding and poor educational attainment, and between residential crowding and psychological distress.28
In 2013, 398,295 people (10 percent of the New Zealand resident population) lived in crowded households that required one or more additional bedrooms to adequately accommodate household members, based on the Canadian Crowding Index.29 The proportion of the population needing additional rooms has remained relatively stable over the last three census periods, but has improved since 1986 when 13 percent of the population lived in crowded households (392,679).

In 2013, 269,172 people (7 percent) lived in households needing one additional bedroom, while 129,123 people (3 percent) lived in households needing two or more additional bedrooms.

The proportion with one or more spare bedrooms has increased. This has resulted more from a decline in the proportion of those with no spare bedrooms, than a change in the proportion of those needing one or more additional rooms.

Figure EC6.1 – Proportion of population by bedroom requirements, 1986–2013

Figure EC6.1 – Proportion of population by bedroom requirements, 1986–2013

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Age and sex differencesTop

Living in crowded households is more likely to be experienced by younger people and declines with age, likely reflecting life cycle and family formation patterns. In 2013, 130,995 (16 percent) of those aged 0–14 years and 93,198 (18 percent) of those aged 15–24 years lived in crowded households. For those 75 years and over, 4,128 people (2 percent) lived in crowded households.

Table EC6.1 – Proportion and number of people needing one or more additional
bedrooms, by age group, 2013

  0–14 15–24 25–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75+ Total
Number 130,995 93,198 103,641 38,223 19,359 8,745 4,128 398,295
Percent 16 18 10 7 4 3 2 10

Source: Statistics New Zealand

There is very little difference between the sexes in the likelihood of living in crowded households.

Ethnic differencesTop

Pacific peoples are far more likely than other ethnic groups to be living in crowded households. In 2013, 112,800 (39 percent) of Pacific peoples lived in households needing one or more additional bedrooms. Māori (115,422 people, or 19 percent), people in the Asian ethnic group (84,477 people, or 18 percent) and the Middle Eastern/Latin American/African (MELAA) ethnic group (8,061, or 17 percent) were the next highest groups experiencing crowding. The European/Other ethnic group was least likely to experience household crowding, at 4 percent, but has the highest number in crowded households (125,133 people).30

Māori, Pacific peoples and Europeans/Other all showed a decrease from 1986 in the proportion living in crowded households. Those in the Asian and MELAA ethnic groups have seen a decrease over the more recent census periods.

Figure EC6.2 – Proportion of people needing one or more additional bedrooms,
by ethnic group, 1986–2013

Figure EC6.2 – Proportion of people needing one or more additional bedrooms, by ethnic group, 1986–2013

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Household differencesTop

In 2013, multi-family households with dependent children had the highest proportion of people living in crowded households (118,539 people, or 50 percent of multi-family households), followed by one-parent families with dependent children (78,330 people, or 21 percent). Couples with dependent children had the largest number, but a lower proportion, of people in crowded households (138,978 people, or 10 percent of couples with dependent children).

Over the last three census periods from 2001, multi-family households with dependent children have shown the most significant drop in the proportion living in crowded households (56 percent down to 50 percent). The remaining household types experienced minor changes over this period.

Tenure and income differencesTop

There is a clear difference in the proportion of people needing one or more bedrooms when looking at tenure of the household (ie whether houses are owned). In 2013, for those living in households that were not owned, 19 percent (262,302 people) lived in crowded households. This compared with 5 percent (126,657 people) living in households that were owned or partly owned, or where the dwelling was held in a family trust.31

There is also a difference in the decline in household crowding over time when looking at household tenure. Over the period 1986–2013, where households were owned or were partly owned the percentage of those in crowded households fell by 4.4 percentage points, compared with a smaller drop of 2.6 percentage points for those in households not owned.

Figure EC6.3 – Proportion needing one or more bedrooms, by household tenure,
1986–2013

Figure EC6.3 – Proportion needing one or more bedrooms, by household tenure, 1986–2013

Source: Statistics New Zealand
Note: * “Dwelling was held in a family trust” was not asked before 2006 but, for this figure, has been added to dwellings owned or partly owned for 2006 and 2013.

There are also clear differences when looking at household income. Based on crowding by Jensen Equivalised Annual Household gross income quintiles, 91,995 (15 percent) of those in the lowest income quintile lived in crowded households, compared with 12,330 (2 percent) of those in the highest income quintile.32

Regional differencesTop

In 2013, Auckland had the highest proportion of people living in crowded households (203,820 people, or 16 percent), followed by Gisborne (5,913 people, or 15 percent) and Northland (13,853 people, or 10 percent). This line-up has remained relatively stable since 1986.

Otago had the lowest proportion of people in crowded households (7,659 people, or 4.1 percent), followed by the West Coast (1,047 people, or 3.7 percent).

Between 1986 and 2013, the percentage point drop in household crowding in all regions was greater than the national drop (3 percentage points), with the exception of Auckland, where the percentage point drop was 1 percent. Given Auckland's large population, the poorer Auckland result has had an impact on the overall New Zealand result.

International comparisonTop

Because different countries use a range of measures for household crowding, international comparisons are problematic. Statistics New Zealand has provided some comparisons for 2001 which indicate the rate of household crowding was higher in New Zealand than in Australia, England or Canada.33

Data for this section can be found at: www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/documents/2016/ec6.xlsx