A Pew Research Center analysis of Census Data reveals a fundamental shift in the way U.S. residents are living—last true in a time closer to the Civil War than the 20th century.
"Broad demographic shifts in marital status, educational attainment and employment have transformed the way young adults in the U.S. are living," according to an article by Richard Fry, "and a new Pew Research Center analysis of census data highlights the implications of these changes for the most basic element of their lives – where they call home."
According to Fry, the primary demographic trend responsible for the new domestic arrangements is the reluctance of young people to settle down romantically before 35. "Dating back to 1880, the most common living arrangement among young adults has been living with a romantic partner, whether a spouse or a significant other." That arrangement's dominance, however, has been in steady decline since 1960.
By 2014, reports Fry, "31.6% of young adults were living with a spouse or partner in their own household, below the share living in the home of their parent(s) (32.1%)."
The article includes several useful visualizations of the data, as well as deeper breakdowns of the demographics, by gender, employment status, educational attainment, and race and ethnicity for example.
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