Living Alone Now the Most Common Type of Household

Hamilton Lombard digs into recently released U.S. Census data to reveal an interesting characteristic of contemporary American life: living alone is now the most common form of household.

Lombard notes that the rise of living alone came amid a remarkable decline in the household arrangement most closely aligned with perceptions of the home: two parents with children.

"In 1950, over half of all households consisted of two married parents with children. By 2014 that portion had declined to less than a quarter of U.S. households. The actual number of households with two spouses and children was smaller in 2014 than in 1980, despite the total U.S. population growing by over 40 percent during the period. Given the scale of the change, the decline in family households is arguably one of the most significant demographic trends over the past few decades."

After breaking down additional data to shed light on the trends in households, Lombard also makes the following prediction relevant for planners and policy makers looking to prepare for the country of the future: " the typical U.S. household will increasingly look more like those in television shows such as 'Sex and the City' and 'Golden Girls' than the households portrayed in 'Modern Family.'"