Census Bureau Releases New Estimates on America’s Families and Living Arrangements

Newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s historical America’s Families and Living Arrangements tables show that fewer than half (47%) of U.S. households in 2025 were married couples — a significant shift from 50 years earlier, when nearly two-thirds (66%) were.

Among married-couple households, the share with their own children declined over the past half-century. In 1975, more than half (54%) of married-couple households included their own children under age 18; by 2025, that share had declined to about 37%.

Other Highlights

Households:
In 2025, there were 39.7 million one-person households, accounting for 29% of all households, up from 20% in 1975.

The portion of householders age 65 and older rose from 1 in 5 in 1975 to over 1 in 4 in 2025.

Families:
The percentage of families with their own children under age 18 in the household declined from 54% in 1975 to 39% in 2025.

Marriage:
The estimated median age at first marriage increased to 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women, up from ages 23.5 and 21.1, respectively, in 1975.

Living Arrangements:
In 2025, more than half (58%) of adults ages 18 to 24 lived in their parental home, compared to 16% of adults ages 25 to 34. 

These statistics come from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), years 2025 and 1975. CPS ASEC has collected statistics on families for more than 60 years.

The data detail household characteristics, living arrangements, couple types, and children.

For more data on families and living arrangements, visit Families and Living Arrangements at census.gov.

Definitions and more information on confidentiality protection, methodology, and sampling and nonsampling error are available in the technical documentation at https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar25.pdf. The Source and Accuracy Statement (Attachment H) details methods for calculating standard errors for estimates in this tip sheet.

All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing, and, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are statistically significant at the 10 percent significance level.