Twenty-three percent of Heidelberg's household heads are thirty years old or younger. This is twice the national average (11.5 percent) for this age segment.
Other top-ranked locations in terms of young households are the university cities of Leipzip, Jena and Dresden, each of which has more than 20 percent of this household type. The other districts in the top-ten ranking have a share of young households from 1.6 to 1.7 times the national average.
Top ten districts according to share of young households
rank | urban district (UD) / rural district (RD) | inhabitants | share of households
under 30 years old as a %* | index (100 = national average) |
1 | Heidelberg UD | 152,113 | 22.57 | 197.2 |
2 | Leipzig UD | 531,562 | 21.62 | 188.9 |
3 | Jena UD | 107,679 | 21.22 | 185.4 |
4 | Dresden UD | 530,754 | 20.28 | 177.2 |
5 | Regensburg UD | 140,276 | 19.38 | 169.3 |
6 | Freiburg im Breisgau UD | 220,286 | 19.28 | 168.5 |
7 | Würzburg UD | 124,698 | 19.19 | 167.7 |
8 | Kiel UD | 241,533 | 19.06 | 166.5 |
9 | Erlangen UD | 105,624 | 18.54 | 162.0 |
10 | Münster UD | 299,708 | 18.36 | 160.4 |
source: GfK Demographics Germany 2015
* according to age of household head
UD = urban district; RD = rural district
Young households are especially well represented in cities with a strong university presence. By contrast, the highest share of senior households is typically in rural areas, particularly in eastern Germany. The highest share of this demographic can be found in the urban district of Suhl in Thuringia: 46 percent of all household heads in this location are 60 years or older. Senior households are distributed much more evenly than young households. The deviation of 1.3 times the German average in the urban district of Suhl is the highest in the nation.
Top ten districts according to share of senior households
rank | urban district (UD) / rural district (RD) | inhabitants | share of households
60 years old + as a %* | index (100 = national average) |
1 | Suhl UD | 35,665 | 45.75 | 127.1 |
2 | Vogtlandkreis RD | 233,970 | 44.64 | 124.1 |
3 | Lüchow-Dannenberg RD | 48,670 | 44.40 | 123.4 |
4 | Zwickau RD | 327,062 | 44.15 | 122.7 |
5 | Altenburger Land RD | 93,605 | 44.11 | 122.6 |
6 | Erzgebirgskreis RD | 351,309 | 44.05 | 122.4 |
7 | Dessau-Roßlau UD | 83,616 | 43.99 | 122.3 |
8 | Wilhelmshaven UD | 75,728 | 43.88 | 121.9 |
9 | Ostholstein RD | 197,835 | 43.65 | 121.3 |
10 | Görlitz RD | 262,168 | 43.56 | 121.1 |
source: GfK Demographics Germany 2015
* according to age of household head
UD = urban district; RD = rural district
The share of senior households in the rural district of Miltenberg and the urban district of Kaiserslautern is around 36 percent, which puts it right at the national average.
Around 260 of Germany's 402 districts have an above-average share of senior households. By contrast, just under 100 of Germany's districts have an above-average share of young households.
Age breakdown of Germany's households
age of household head | number of households | share as a % |
household head up to under 30 years old | 4,528,725 | 11.45 |
household head 30 to under 40 years old | 5,896,713 | 14.90 |
household head 40 to under 50 years old | 7,418,550 | 18.75 |
household head 50 to under 60 years old | 7,485,562 | 18.92 |
household head 60 years and older | 14,237,786 | 35.98 |
source: GfK Demographics Germany 2015
About the study
GfK Demographics reveals the socio-demographic profile of the population and is calculated for various regional levels. The dataset provides information on Germany's population and households according to household type (single- and multiple-person with or without children, as well as immigrant households), age range (i.e., age of household head), income level (divided into seven brackets), as well as the architectural profile of the residence (single- or dual-family house, etc.).
GfK Demographics is used by marketing and sales divisions for locating target groups. The detailed data reveals the best areas in which to conduct marketing and sales campaigns for certain products. GfK Demographics 2015 is available for all of Germany's urban and rural districts, municipalities, postcodes, streets and 2.6 million street segments from GfK's
geomarketing solution area.
Additional information on GfK's regional market data can be found at
http://www.gfk-geomarketing.de/market_data.
Print-quality illustrations can be found here.
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