The average American household consisted of 2.51 people in 2023.

Households in the U.S.

As shown in the statistic, the number of people per household has decreased over the past decades.

The U.S. Census Bureau defines a household as follows: “a household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.).”

The population of the United States has been growing steadily for decades. Since 1960, the number of households more than doubled from 53 million to over 131 million households in 2023.

Most of these households, about 34 percent, are two-person households. The distribution of U.S. households has changed over the years though. The percentage of single-person households has been on the rise since 1970 and made up the second largest proportion of households in the U.S. in 2022, at 28.88 percent.

In concordance with the rise of single-person households, the percentage of family households with own children living in the household has declined since 1970 from 56 percent to 40.26 percent in 2022.

The average American family in 2023 consisted of 3.15 persons. Families in the United States According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. As of 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau counted about 84.33 million families in the United States. The average family consisted of 3.15 persons in 2021, down from 3.7 in the 1960s. This is reflected in the decrease of children in family households overall. In 1970, about 56 percent of all family households had children under the age of 18 living in the household. This percentage declined to about 40 percent in 2020. The average size of a family household varies greatly from state to state. The largest average families can be found in Utah, California, and Hawaii, while the smallest families can be found in Wisconsin, Vermont and Maine.

The graph displays the average work hours per week in the United States from 2006 to 2025. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '06 to '25, while the y-axis indicates the average hours worked per week. The data shows that the average weekly work hours range from a low of 33.9 hours in 2009 to a high of 34.8 hours in 2021. Over this period, the average work hours have remained relatively stable with slight fluctuations, including a notable dip in 2009 and a peak in 2021. The 2025 figure is marked as not a full year yet.

Graph and download economic data for Mean Personal Income in the United States (MAPAINUSA646N) from 1974 to 2023 about average, personal income, personal, income, and USA.

The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2023, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960.

Familial structure in the United States

If there’s one thing the United States is known for, it’s diversity. Whether this is diversity in ethnicity, culture, or family structure, there is something for everyone in the U.S. Two-parent households in the U.S. are declining, and the number of families with no children are increasing. The number of families with children has stayed more or less constant since 2000.

Adoptions in the U.S.

Families in the U.S. don’t necessarily consist of parents and their own biological children. In 2021, around 35,940 children were adopted by married couples, and 13,307 children were adopted by single women.

This data collection provides selected economic, social, demographic, and political information for 48 states of the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Variables describe population characteristics, such as the number of adults aged 65 and over, the number of dentists and physicians, the number of patients in mental hospitals, the death rates of white and non-white infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births, respectively, the number of recipients of public assistance such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), elementary and secondary school enrollment, enrollment in vocational programs, the total number of students in higher education, the number of those conferred with M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, and the number of workers in research experiment stations. Other variables provide economic information, such as personal income per capita, average monthly payment per recipient of some public assistance programs, average salary per month for full-time state and local employees, state and local government revenues and expenditures, and various intergovernmental revenues from the federal government for certain services. Additional variables record crime statistics, such as the number of robbery, burglary, larceny, auto theft, assault, rape, and murder offenses per 100,000 of the population. There are also variables that give information on each state's topography, such as the acreage of state parks, total farm acreage, municipal road mileage, and total unsurfaced road mileage.

The graph illustrates the average number of cars per household in the United States from 1969 to 2022. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '69 to '22, while the y-axis displays the average number of cars per household. Over this period, the average increased from 1.16 cars per household in 1969 to a peak of 1.89 in 2001. The lowest recorded average was 1.16 in 1969, and the highest was 1.89 in 2001. After 2001, the average slightly decreased to 1.83 in 2022. The data indicates an overall upward trend in the average number of cars per household over the decades, with a slight decline in recent years.

Key information about United States Monthly Earnings

• United States Monthly Earnings stood at 4,901 USD in Feb 2025, compared with the previous figure of 4,887 USD in Jan 2025
• US Monthly Earnings data is updated monthly, available from Mar 2006 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 3,469 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 4,901 USD in Feb 2025 and a record low of 2,743 USD in Mar 2006

CEIC calculates Monthly Earnings from Average Weekly Earnings multiplied by 4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides Average Weekly Earnings in USD. Monthly Earnings include Private Non Agricultural sector only.


Further information about United States Monthly Earnings

• In the latest reports, US Population reached 341 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of US increased to 4 % in Feb 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 62 % in Feb 2025

Graph and download economic data for Laborers' Average Hourly Rate of Wages, Weighted for United States (A08139USA052NNBR) from 1860 to 1891 about hours, wages, labor, rate, and USA.

The graph presents the median monthly salary in the United States from 2000 to 2024. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '00 to '24*, while the y-axis shows the salary amounts in U.S. dollars per month. Throughout this twenty-four-year period, the median monthly salary consistently increased from $2,500 in 2000 to $5,036 in 2024. The data highlights a steady upward trend, with annual salaries rising each year without any declines. Notably, the salary grew by approximately $200 each year from 2000 to 2019, surged to $4,269 in 2020, and continued to climb each subsequent year, reaching $5,000 by 2024. This consistent growth reflects economic advancements and potential increases in workforce compensation over the decade. The information is depicted in a line graph format, effectively illustrating the continuous rise in median monthly salaries across the specified years.

Graph and download economic data for Mean Family Income in the United States (MAFAINUSA646N) from 1953 to 2023 about family, average, income, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (MSPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q1 2025 about sales, median, housing, and USA.

The average net worth of families in the United States increased nearly twofold between 1989 and 2007, when it reached ******* U.S. dollars. Following the financial crisis of 2008, the average net worth of Americans families dropped to ******* U.S. in 2013. In the following years, American families' net worth started increasing again, reaching a value of nearly ******* U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA672N) from 1974 to 2023 about personal income, personal, median, income, real, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Total Average Annual Expenditures by Hispanic or Latino Origin: Not Hispanic or Latino: Black or African-American (CXUTOTALEXPLB1005M) from 2003 to 2023 about African-American, average, expenditures, latino, hispanic, and USA.

Large white, Grade A chicken eggs, sold in a carton of a dozen. Includes organic, non-organic, cage free, free range, and traditional."

Source ID: avh

When using these data in your research, please make the following reference: Feenstra, Robert C., Robert Inklaar and Marcel P. Timmer (2015), "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table" American Economic Review, 105(10), 3150-3182, available for download at www.ggdc.net/pwt

For more information, see http://www.rug.nl/research/ggdc/data/pwt/.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private (CES0500000003) from Mar 2006 to Jun 2025 about earnings, average, establishment survey, hours, wages, private, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Average Weekly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private (CES0500000011) from Mar 2006 to Jun 2025 about earnings, establishment survey, private, employment, and USA.

Temperature in American Samoa increased to 27.50 celsius in 2023 from 27.31 celsius in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for American Samoa Average Temperature.