Households in the United States have changed significantly over the last 60 years. In 1960, 43% of households were couples with children, but this had dropped to 24% by 2015.
Once a minority, single individuals living alone are now the most common composition, making up 28% of households in 2015.
Several factors may explain this shift. Since 2000, most population growth has occurred among those over 60, who are more likely to live alone after widowhood or once children leave home. Declining birth rates have further reduced the share of households with children.
At the same time, rising incomes among women, in particular, have made independent living more accessible, likely contributing to the increase in single-person households alongside the trend of marrying later or not at all.
Explore how household types compare across different countries →
Where this page came from
This page was imported from Our World in Data. “Solo living has become the most common arrangement for households in the United States” by Veronika Samborska, published by Our World in Data under CC BY 4.0. Changed here: set as a page, its interactive charts shown as pictures. Data from third parties keeps its own licence.
Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.
Licence: CC BY 4.0 · Adapted from ourworldindata.org
1
0
0
0
Comments
