Notes, definitions and supporting text for household estimates and projections

This page provides detailed definitions for the data presented in the live tables and Housing Statistics Annual, including the methodology used.

Definition of a household

In the 2001 Census, for the household projections and mid year estimates a household is defined as:

one person living alone, or
a group of people living at the same address who share common housekeeping or a living room

Projections of the number of households

The household figures for England, the English regions and local authority districts are derived by the Department for Communities and Local Government from the household projections model using population figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS):

(a) up to 2008 they are derived using the ONS mid-year population estimates

(b) for 2009 onwards the 2008-based household projections are based on the ONS 2008-based population projections

The ONS population figures are split by marital status using the ONS marital status projections, and an estimate of the communal establishment population is subtracted from the total population to give the private household population.

These population figures, split by age, sex and marital status group, are multiplied by the projected 'household representative rates' that represent the proportion of the population in that category who are household representatives. These rates are based on the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 censuses and Labour Force Survey data.

The breakdown of the household projections into the detailed household types is given by a projection of headship rates from the 1991 and 2001 census.

Figures for the number of households from the Census year of 2001 to the base year of the projections in 2008 are derived from projected household representative rates applied to the ONS mid-year population estimates. They are therefore not direct estimates of the actual number of households as they are derived from modelled household representative rates.

A more detailed description of the projection methodology is available in Updating the Department for Communities and Local Government's household projections to a 2008 base: Methodology (published 26 November 2010).

Historic series

The data for 1861 to 1961 are largely based on the census figures for England and Wales with Wales including Monmouthshire excluded to maintain an area consistent with modern England. The figures up until 1921 use families and separate occupiers and have not been adjusted to take account of the definitional change in 1921 that effectively removed the institutional population from the figures. The figure for 1939 is based on work by A. E. Holmans (see page 63, Housing Policy in Britain 1987, Croom Helm) with a pro rata adjustment made for England using the population ratio.