When people compare neighbourhoods, they often start with price or distance to the city. One of the more revealing measures is simpler: what kind of homes do people in the area actually live in? The 2020 Census of Population counted resident households by planning area and type of dwelling, which lets us compare the twelve neighbourhoods in our guides on an equal footing.
This article uses only the Census figures. It does not estimate values or predict changes, and the numbers describe households in 2020.
The comparison
| Neighbourhood | Households | HDB flats | Condos and apartments | Landed | HDB share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampines | 83,681 | 72,846 | 9,543 | 1,211 | 87% |
| Ang Mo Kio | 60,220 | 50,647 | 4,815 | 4,433 | 84% |
| Bukit Merah | 59,700 | 53,875 | 5,429 | 190 | 90% |
| Pasir Ris | 44,799 | 30,080 | 12,814 | 1,905 | 67% |
| Bukit Panjang | 43,580 | 36,120 | 6,643 | 817 | 83% |
| Queenstown | 37,053 | 31,259 | 4,676 | 1,032 | 84% |
| Clementi | 33,609 | 25,820 | 5,988 | 1,614 | 77% |
| Bukit Timah | 24,612 | 2,493 | 12,827 | 9,163 | 10% |
| Marine Parade | 17,069 | 7,993 | 6,334 | 2,603 | 47% |
| Downtown Core | 1,547 | 229 | 1,282 | 0 | 15% |
The Census did not publish separate dwelling figures for Rochor or the Southern Islands in this table. A small number of households in each area live in other dwelling types, which is why the columns do not always add up exactly to the total.
For comparison, across Singapore the 2020 Census counted 1,372,559 resident households, of which 1,080,088, or about 79%, lived in HDB flats.
Three kinds of neighbourhood
The numbers sort the twelve areas into three broad groups.
HDB towns
Bukit Merah, Tampines, Ang Mo Kio, Queenstown, Bukit Panjang and Clementi all had more than three quarters of households in HDB flats. These are complete towns, with hawker centres, polyclinics and community clubs planned around the flats.
Within that group, the flat mix varies a lot. In Ang Mo Kio, 3-room flats housed about 40% of all households, and in Queenstown about 37%. In Bukit Panjang, 4-room, 5-room and executive flats together housed more than seven in ten households. Bukit Merah had the highest share of 1- and 2-room flats in our series, about 18% of households.
Mixed areas
Pasir Ris and Marine Parade sit in between. Pasir Ris had about two thirds of households in HDB flats, mostly large ones, and about 29% in condominiums and apartments, the highest condominium share of any HDB-majority area we cover. Marine Parade had fewer than half its households in HDB flats, with 37% in condominiums and 15% in landed homes.
Private areas
Bukit Timah and the Downtown Core are mainly private. Bukit Timah had about 52% of households in condominiums and apartments and 37% in landed homes, and only about 10% in HDB flats. The Downtown Core is small by household count, 1,547 in 2020, and most of those households lived in condominiums and apartments.
Inside the HDB share: flat sizes
HDB towns are not all alike. The table below shows the share of all resident households living in each HDB flat size in 2020, for the areas in our series with a large HDB stock.
| Neighbourhood | 1- and 2-room | 3-room | 4-room | 5-room and executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio | 8% | 40% | 25% | 11% |
| Bukit Merah | 18% | 26% | 29% | 16% |
| Bukit Panjang | 3% | 8% | 39% | 32% |
| Clementi | 3% | 34% | 28% | 12% |
| Marine Parade | 8% | 17% | 11% | 11% |
| Pasir Ris | 2% | 1% | 26% | 38% |
| Queenstown | 10% | 37% | 25% | 12% |
| Tampines | 4% | 17% | 37% | 29% |
Three contrasts stand out. Ang Mo Kio and Queenstown lean towards 3-room flats, which made up 40% and 37% of their households. Bukit Panjang, Pasir Ris and Tampines lean towards larger flats, with 4-room, 5-room and executive flats together housing between 64% and 71% of all households. And Bukit Merah has the broadest spread, with sizeable shares at every flat size, including the highest share of 1- and 2-room flats in our series.
For a household weighing space against location, this is a useful first filter: the towns with more large flats are, in our series, the ones further from the city centre.
Why the mix matters
The housing mix shapes a neighbourhood in ways that are easy to miss on a short visit.
- Public facilities cluster in HDB towns. In our twelve guides, the areas with few HDB flats also have fewer hawker centres, polyclinics and community clubs, as our Bukit Timah and Downtown Core guides show.
- Resale data is richer in HDB towns. HDB publishes median resale prices by town, but where flats are few, it often publishes no figure. See our HDB resale medians article.
- Landed homes change the skyline. Areas with many landed households, such as Bukit Timah (9,163), Ang Mo Kio (4,433) and Marine Parade (2,603), have more low-rise streets than towns made up almost entirely of flats.
- New supply shifts the mix over time. New condominiums and new HDB estates change these proportions. The 2020 figures are the most recent full Census count, so treat them as a snapshot.
What the Census does not tell you
The Census counts households by the type of home they live in. It does not tell you about the age of the homes, their tenure, whether they are owner-occupied or rented, or how the mix has changed since 2020. New condominiums completed after the Census, and new HDB estates in towns such as Tampines North, will shift these proportions. For a current picture of a specific street, look at the developments on it and at public transaction data.
How to use the figures
If you are choosing between neighbourhoods, it can help to decide first which group you want to live in:
- If you want a complete town with public facilities close at hand, look at the HDB towns.
- If you want a mix of housing types and a slightly different pace, look at the mixed areas.
- If you want a private residential area and are comfortable travelling for some public facilities, look at the private areas.
Then use our neighbourhood guides to compare schools, transport, food and healthcare within your chosen group.
Frequently asked questions
Which neighbourhood had the highest share of HDB households?
Bukit Merah, at about 90% of households in 2020.
Which had the lowest?
Bukit Timah, at about 10%, among the areas with a full Census breakdown in our series.
What share of Singapore's households lived in HDB flats in 2020?
About 79%: 1,080,088 of 1,372,559 resident households.
Why are Rochor and the Southern Islands missing?
The Census table we used did not publish a separate breakdown for them.
Which neighbourhood had the most landed households?
Bukit Timah, with 9,163, about 37% of its households.
Which had the highest condominium share?
The Downtown Core, where about 83% of households lived in condominiums and other apartments, followed by Bukit Timah at about 52%.
Which HDB town had the most 1- and 2-room flat households?
Bukit Merah, with 10,995.
Which town had the most 5-room and executive households?
Tampines, with 24,136, out of 83,681 households in total, the most in our series.
Is Pasir Ris mostly HDB?
Yes, about 67% of households in 2020, with about 29% in condominiums and apartments.
Which areas had more private than HDB households?
Bukit Timah, the Downtown Core and Marine Parade.
Sources
- Singapore Department of Statistics, Census of Population 2020, Resident Households by Planning Area of Residence and Type of Dwelling (data.gov.sg).
- Housing & Development Board, Median Resale Prices for Registered Applications by Town and Flat Type (data.gov.sg).