According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 273.6 million people lived in 105,480,101 households. An additional 7.8 million people lived in institutions such as group homes, prisons, or college dorms. As the table below shows, Americans are living in a wide array of residential arrangements, although married couples still predominate. The second most common household arrangement is a single person living alone.
Household Type |
% of Households |
Single |
25.8 |
Three generations |
3.7 |
Married |
51.7 |
Married with children |
23.5 |
Single with children |
9.3 |
Single female with children |
7.2 |
Single male with children |
2.1 |
Unmarried partners |
5.2 |
Of the opposite sex |
4.6 |
Of the same sex |
0.6 |
American Households in the 2000 Census