Recently released Central Statistics Office (CSO ) Census 2022 information has detailed the evolving living arrangements of the County Westmeath population, noting the different types and sizes of family composition within each household.
Results for Westmeath Families
There were 24,204 families in Westmeath in April 2022, up from 23,234 (+ four percent ) in 2016. The average number of children per family in the county was 1.38, compared with 1.34 nationally.
Westmeath’s families included 11,202 married couples with children and 1,793 cohabiting couples with children. A further 3,362 families with children were headed by single mothers and 661 by single fathers. There were also 5,653 married couples without children and 1,533 cohabiting couples without children.
The number of same-sex couples in Westmeath in April 2022 increased to 141 compared with 78 in 2016. Nationally, there were 10,393 same-sex couples.
There were 5,799 families in rented accommodation in the county (24% ). This was a 2% increase on 2016.
Private households and Living Alone
The average household size in Westmeath in April 2022 was 2.78 people. This was slightly above the national average of 2.74 people.
The number of people living alone in the county grew from 7,482 to 7,841, an increase of 5% since Census 2016.
There were 13,484 people aged 65 and over living in the county in April 2022. Of these 3,446 were living alone. This was an 24% increase in those aged 65 and over living alone.
Adults Living with Their Parents
In April 2022 in Westmeath, 9,814 adults, or 14 percent of all those aged 18 and over in the county, were still living with their parents. This was an increase of 1,492 (18 percent ) since 2016.
Nationally, there were 522,486 adult children aged 18 years and above living with their parents (13 percent ).
Overall, almost 25,000 adults living with their parents were unpaid carers. In Westmeath, 462 (five percent ) were unpaid carers.
In 2022, 24 was the youngest age at which the majority of people nationally were not living with their parents. This was up from 23 in 2011. In Westmeath, this was 25 years.
Of all adults living with their parents nationally in 2022, 57 percent were male. Similarly in Westmeath, 57% were male.
Childcare
There were 19,779 children (aged under 15 ) living in Westmeath in April 2022. This was four more than in 2016.
Nationally, there were 1,012,287 children aged under 15 (up 5,735 since 2016 ). Almost one in three – 331,783 – were in some form of childcare. In Westmeath, 6,343 (32% ) of those aged under 15 were in childcare.
There were 2,458 children in a crèche/montessori/playgroup/after school service in the county (39 percent ). Just over one in four (1,819 ) were being cared for by an unpaid relative or family member.
A further 1,211 (19% ) were being cared for by a childminder (in the childminder’s home ).
Commenting on the results, Deirdre Lynch, Statistician in the Census Division, noted that the information detailed how families and living arrangements are evolving and changing.
“It looks at changes in the numbers of families with and without children and the number of same-sex couples. The results show that the number of families has increased but the average number of children per family has fallen slightly, having remained unchanged in the previous two censuses. For the first time this profile also includes details of the numbers of children under 15 years of age in childcare as well as the types of childcare and the number of hours attended,” Ms Lynch stated.
