Today's release of 2023 Census data includes more detailed information about families and households, and the people within them.
This information is widely used for many different purposes and helps inform planning and decision-making in many areas including health and education.
Increase in families with adult children living at home
In 2023, just over one-third (34.5 percent) of all families with children had adult children living with them. This figure was particularly high for families with at least one person belonging to the Pacific peoples ethnic group (38.7 percent).
"The 2023 Census shows a substantial increase in the number of adult children living at home," principal analyst Dr Rosemary Goodyear said.
The 27.3 percent increase between 2013 and 2023 was triple the 8.2 percent increase in the number of families with dependent children, and almost double the 13.9 percent increase in the total number of families over the same period.
"This may reflect increased cost-of-living pressures," Goodyear said.
An adult child is defined in the census as a child in a family who is aged 15 years or over and employed full time, or a child in a family who is aged 18 years or over.
| Families | 2013 Census | 2023 Census |
| Total families | 1136397 | 1294503 |
| Families with children | 671091 | 757017 |
| Families with dependent children | 526269 | 569250 |
| Families with adult children | 205416 | 261543 |
Proportion of male sole parents increasing, but less likely to be caring for very young children
There were approximately 138,000 sole parents with dependent children in 2023. Of these, 17.8 percent were male, compared with 15.8 percent in 2013.
As the age of the youngest dependent child increased, so did the proportion of male sole parents. In 2023, for one-parent families with dependent children:
- where there was a child aged under one year, only 8.9 percent of parents were male
- where the youngest dependent child was aged 13 to 17 years, 22 to 23 percent of parents were male.
| Age of youngest dependent child (years) | Female sole parent | Male sole parent | Sole parent of another gender |
| <1 | 90.9 | 8.9 | 0.3 |
| 1 | 89.7 | 10.1 | 0.3 |
| 2 | 88.3 | 11.5 | 0.2 |
| 3 | 87 | 12.7 | 0.2 |
| 4 | 84.7 | 15.1 | 0.2 |
| 5 | 83 | 16.5 | 0.5 |
| 6 | 82 | 17.9 | 0.2 |
| 7 | 82.1 | 17.5 | 0.4 |
| 8 | 81.8 | 18 | 0.2 |
| 9 | 80.6 | 19.2 | 0.2 |
| 10 | 79.7 | 20 | 0.3 |
| 11 | 79.4 | 20.4 | 0.2 |
| 12 | 78.6 | 21.1 | 0.3 |
| 13 | 77.6 | 22.2 | 0.3 |
| 14 | 76.8 | 22.9 | 0.2 |
| 15 | 76.5 | 23.2 | 0.3 |
| 16 | 77.2 | 22.6 | 0.3 |
| 17 | 76.5 | 23.2 | 0.3 |
"Male sole parents with dependent children were more likely to be employed full-time and less likely to be employed part-time, unemployed, or not in the labour force than female sole parents or sole parents of another gender," Goodyear said.
"This reflects that female sole parents are more likely to have younger dependent children, particularly of pre-school age."
| Work and labour force status | Female sole parent | Male sole parent | Sole parent of another gender |
| Employed full-time | 43.6 | 65.7 | 41.9 |
| Employed part-time | 17.1 | 6.6 | 16.1 |
| Unemployed | 7.3 | 5.4 | 5.6 |
| Not in the labour force | 32 | 22.3 | 36.3 |
Households reflect New Zealand's increasing ethnic diversity
Today's release of 2023 Census data includes family and household information by the ethnic group(s) of family and household members.
"Being able to analyse family and household data through an ethnicity lens provides a richer understanding of the families and households New Zealanders live in," Goodyear said.
In 2023, almost four-fifths (79.1 percent) of households had at least one person belonging to the European ethnic group, almost one-fifth (19.3 percent) had at least one person belonging to the Māori ethnic group, 17.2 percent had at least one person belonging to the Asian ethnic group, and 7.8 percent had at least one person belonging to the Pacific peoples ethnic group.
The proportion of households with at least one person belonging to the European ethnic group decreased between 2018 and 2023. In contrast, the proportions of households with at least one person belonging to the Māori ethnic group, households with at least one person belonging to the Pacific peoples ethnic group, and households with at least one person belonging to the Asian ethnic group all increased, reflecting New Zealand's increasingly diverse population.
| Ethnicity | 2018 Census | 2023 Census |
| European | 82.4 | 79.1 |
| Māori | 17.9 | 19.3 |
| Pacific peoples | 7 | 7.8 |
| Asian | 15.1 | 17.2 |
In 2023, the average household size by the ethnic group of household members was:
- 4.0 people per household for households with at least one person belonging to the Pacific peoples ethnic group
- 3.3 people per household for households with at least one person belonging to the Māori ethnic group
- 3.3 people per household for households with at least one person belonging to the Asian ethnic group
- 2.6 people per household for households with at least one person belonging to the European ethnic group.
Households with at least one person belonging to the European ethnic group were the most likely to be one-person or two-person households. Households with at least one person belonging to the Asian ethnic group were the most likely to be three-person or four-person households. Households with at least one person belonging to the Pacific peoples ethnic group were the most likely to have five or more people.
| Household size | European | Māori | Pacific peoples | Asian |
| 1 | 24.1 | 12.9 | 7.4 | 9.2 |
| 2 | 35.9 | 27.3 | 19.1 | 25.8 |
| 3 | 15.8 | 20.5 | 19.3 | 23.6 |
| 4 | 14.5 | 18.6 | 19.5 | 22.6 |
| 5 | 6.1 | 10.6 | 14 | 10.2 |
| 6 | 2.1 | 5.2 | 9.1 | 4.8 |
| 7 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 5.1 | 2 |
| 8+ | 0.6 | 2.4 | 6.5 | 1.7 |
