Tania Mayrhofer, part of a growing demographic who lives alone in Australia. Photo: Jason South

Living alone gets a bad rap. Often seen as an expensive exercise in social isolation, it can conjure up images of loneliness, toast for dinner and too many cats.

But a quarter of Australian homes are now "lone-person" households, and new research shows the experience of living alone depends very much on a number of factors, including your gender, education, income and age.

It turns out that living alone is linked to social advantage for younger women but social disadvantage among middle-aged men, according to new research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

The demographic trends research suggests that for professional women in their 20s and 30s, settling down and having kids is not the only thing on their agenda, says the institute's senior research fellow, Professor David de Vaus. "In that group, living alone is more of a positive choice."


Tania Mayrhofer certainly sees it this way.

The 35-year-old finance professional moved from Sydney to Melbourne for a new job six months ago and the (relative) rental affordability meant she was finally able to shed the housemates and live alone.

Her Port Melbourne apartment is a "haven" she says, decked out in beautiful furniture that is not particularly child-friendly (in fact a friend with children recently stayed solo for the weekend to enjoy the quiet and uncluttered space).

Living alone is a privilege, says Ms Mayrhofer, but it can get lonely sometimes. That is when it helps to organise regular activities with friends or chat with local shopkeepers to instil a sense of community.

"It's a really easy, stress-free way to live. If things change and I meet someone, I'll adapt, but I'm taking advantage of the freedoms that I have at the moment," she said.

Younger and middle-aged women who live alone have considerably higher education than their male counterparts - among younger people this was particularly marked, with 45 per cent of women having a degree, compared with just 25 per cent of men, the report finds.

But on all measures, middle-aged men who live alone stood out because of their relative lack of success on these aspects of achievement.

Compared with other middle-aged men, those who lived alone were likely to be less educated, have a job, earn less and have less prestigious jobs.

Despite this, living alone should not be viewed negatively, said Professor de Vaus.

The bulk of people who live alone do not do it for a long time - typically three years - and then moved on to other family-based living arrangements.

"The stereotype of living alone is that it's for the sad and lonely who can't make a go of relationships - it's not borne out by the facts," he said.

Although the rates of lone-person households have increased sharply since the 1970s, they have plateaued since 2001.

Researchers suspect this is because of the soaring increases in property prices, and increased stability in the age that people are partnering (usually in their late 20s and early 30s).

Living alone is a little more common among women than among men, but women living alone are, on average, substantially older than men who live alone.

In the past 25 years there has also been a sharp increase in the proportion of those living alone who are aged 80 and older - from 9 per cent to 15 per cent of those living alone.

Some of these changes reflect the aging population. Widowhood is the main cause of living alone for women in their 70s and men and women in their 80s.