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.

In 2024, the average size of a single-family home built for sale in the United States amounted to ***** square feet. Although in the past five years American homes have been shrinking, since 1975, they have almost doubled in size. This trend towards larger homes seems illogical given that the average size of families has shrunk over the same period. Why are American homes so large? Homes in the U.S. are among the largest in the world, only surpassed by Australia. There are thought to be several reasons for this, including the concentration of wealth in the country and the deeply engrained driving culture, which means that cheaper land outside city centers is easily accessible. Where are the largest homes located? The size of homes also varies regionally, with the largest homes being located in wealthy, urban areas and in the South. Large homes, or McMansions as they’re often called, are especially popular in Texas. In 2024, Milwaukee and Omaha had the largest average home size.

House Price Index YoY in the United States decreased to 1.70 percent in September from 2.40 percent in August of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States FHFA House Price Index YoY.

Graph and download economic data for All-Transactions House Price Index for the United States (USSTHPI) from Q1 1975 to Q3 2025 about appraisers, HPI, housing, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for United States (QUSR628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q2 2025 about residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Existing Single-Family Homes (HSFMEDUSM052N) from Oct 2024 to Oct 2025 about 1-unit structures, family, sales, median, housing, price, and USA.

In 2018, the average home size in the United States was ***** square feet, and the size of the average home is set to fall to ***** square feet by 2023.

Average Mortgage Size in the United States increased to 381.40 Thousand USD in October from 379.11 Thousand USD in September of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Average Mortgage Size.

How many households are in the U.S.?

In 2023, there were 131.43 million households in the United States. This is a significant increase from 1960, when there were 52.8 million households in the U.S.

What counts as a household?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a household is considered to be all persons living within one housing unit. This includes apartments, houses, or single rooms, and consists of both related and unrelated people living together. For example, two roommates who share a living space but are not related would be considered a household in the eyes of the Census. It should be noted that group living quarters, such as college dorms, are not counted as households in the Census.

Household changes

While the population of the United States has been increasing, the average size of households in the U.S. has decreased since 1960. In 1960, there was an average of 3.33 people per household, but in 2023, this figure had decreased to 2.51 people per household. Additionally, two person households make up the majority of American households, followed closely by single-person households.

Graph and download economic data for Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) for All Homes Including Single-Family Residences, Condos, and CO-OPs in the United States of America (USAUCSFRCONDOSMSAMID) from Jan 2000 to Sep 2025 about 1-unit structures, family, residential, housing, indexes, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Days on Market in the United States (MEDDAYONMARUS) from Jul 2016 to Oct 2025 about median and USA.

The house price-to-income ratio in the United States has reached concerning levels, with the index hitting ***** in the second quarter of 2025. This indicates that house prices have outpaced income growth by *****percent since 2015, highlighting a growing affordability crisis in the housing market. The widening gap between home prices and wages is putting homeownership out of reach for many Americans, particularly as real wages have remained stagnant. Rising home prices and stagnant wages While average annual real wages in the United States have increased slightly since 2014, home prices have soared. The median sales price of existing single-family homes reached a record-high in 2024, representing a substantial increase over the past five years. This disparity between wage growth and home price appreciation has led to a significant decrease in housing affordability across the country. Affordability challenges in the U.S. housing market The U.S. Housing Affordability Index, which measures whether a family earning the median income can afford a median-priced home, plummeted in 2024, marking the second-worst year for homebuyers since records began. This decline in affordability is reflected in homebuyer sentiment, with homebuyer sentiment plummeting.

Following a period of stagnation over most of the 2010s, the number of owner-occupied housing units in the United States started to grow in 2017. In 2024, there were over 86.9 million owner-occupied homes. Owner-occupied housing is where the person who owns a property – either outright or through a mortgage – also resides in the property. Excluded are therefore rental properties, employer-provided housing, and social housing. Homeownership sentiment in the U.S. Though homeownership is still a cornerstone of the American dream, an increasing share of people see themselves as lifelong renters. Millennials have been notoriously late to enter the housing market, with one in four reporting that they would probably continue to always rent in the future, a 2022 survey found. In 2017, just five years before that, this share stood at about 13 percent. How many renter households are there? Renter households are roughly half as few as owner-occupied households in the U.S. In 2024, the number of renter-occupied housing units amounted to over 45 million. Climbing on the property ladder for renters is not always easy, as it requires prospective homebuyers to save up for a down payment and qualify for a mortgage. In many metros, the median household income is insufficient to qualify for the median-priced home.

Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Existing Homes (HOSMEDUSM052N) from Sep 2024 to Sep 2025 about sales, median, housing, and USA.

The data on relationship to householder were derived from answers to Question 2 in the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS), which was asked of all people in housing units. The question on relationship is essential for classifying the population information on families and other groups. Information about changes in the composition of the American family, from the number of people living alone to the number of children living with only one parent, is essential for planning and carrying out a number of federal programs.

The responses to this question were used to determine the relationships of all persons to the householder, as well as household type (married couple family, nonfamily, etc.). From responses to this question, we were able to determine numbers of related children, own children, unmarried partner households, and multi-generational households. We calculated average household and family size. When relationship was not reported, it was imputed using the age difference between the householder and the person, sex, and marital status.

Household – A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.) 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 separately from any other people in the building and which have direct access from the outside of 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 people who share living arrangements.

Average Household Size – A measure obtained by dividing the number of people in households by the number of households. In cases where people in households are cross-classified by race or Hispanic origin, people in the household are classified by the race or Hispanic origin of the householder rather than the race or Hispanic origin of each individual.

Average household size is rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Comparability – The relationship categories for the most part can be compared to previous ACS years and to similar data collected in the decennial census, CPS, and SIPP. With the change in 2008 from “In-law” to the two categories of “Parent-in-law” and “Son-in-law or daughter-in-law,” caution should be exercised when comparing data on in-laws from previous years. “In-law” encompassed any type of in-law such as sister-in-law. Combining “Parent-in-law” and “son-in-law or daughter-in-law” does not represent all “in-laws” in 2008.

The same can be said of comparing the three categories of “biological” “step,” and “adopted” child in 2008 to “Child” in previous years. Before 2008, respondents may have considered anyone under 18 as “child” and chosen that category. The ACS includes “foster child” as a category. However, the 2010 Census did not contain this category, and “foster children” were included in the “Other nonrelative” category. Therefore, comparison of “foster child” cannot be made to the 2010 Census. Beginning in 2013, the “spouse” category includes same-sex spouses.

Macau Average Length of Stay: Guest-houses: North America: USA data was reported at 1.700 Night in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.500 Night for Apr 2018. Macau Average Length of Stay: Guest-houses: North America: USA data is updated monthly, averaging 1.783 Night from Jan 1998 (Median) to May 2018, with 245 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.875 Night in Sep 1999 and a record low of 0.981 Night in Mar 1998. Macau Average Length of Stay: Guest-houses: North America: USA data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics and Census Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Macau – Table MO.Q010: Average Length of Stay.

For a quick summary of the case study, please click "US Economy Powerpoint" and download the Powerpoint.

This dataset was inspired by rising prices for essential goods, the abnormally high inflation rate in March of 7.9 percent of this year, and the 30 trillion-dollar debt that we have. I was extremely curious to see how sustainable this is for the average American and if wages are increasing at the same rate to help combat this inflation. This is not politically driven in the slightest nor was this made to put the blame on Americans. This dataset was inspired by rising prices for essential goods and the abnormally high inflation rate in March of 7.9 percent of this year. I was extremely curious to see how sustainable this is for the average American and if wages are increasing at the same rate to help combat this inflation. This is not politically driven in the slightest nor was this made to put the blame on Americans. All of the datasets were obtained from third party sources websites such as https://dqydj.com/household-income-by-year/ and https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/historical-inflation-rates/ and only excluding https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS, which is first-party data.

This dataset was inspired by rising prices for essential goods and the abnormally high inflation rate in March of 7.9 percent of this year. I was extremely curious to see how sustainable this is for the average American and if wages are increasing at the same rate to help combat this inflation. This is not politically driven in the slightest nor was this made to put the blame on Americans. This dataset was inspired by rising prices for essential goods and the abnormally high inflation rate in March of 7.9 percent of this year. I was extremely curious to see how sustainable this is for the average American and if wages are increasing at the same rate to help combat this inflation. This is not politically driven in the slightest nor was this made to put the blame on Americans. All of the datasets were obtained from third party sources websites such as https://dqydj.com/household-income-by-year/ and https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/historical-inflation-rates/ and only excluding https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS, which is first-party data.

I labeled all of the datasets to be self-explanatory based off of the title of the datasets. The US Economy Notebook has most of the code that I used as well as the four of the six phases of data analysis. The last two phases are in the US Economy Powerpoint. The "US Historical Inflation Rates" dataset could have also been labeled "The Inflation Of The US Dollar Month By Month". Lastly, the Average Sales of Houses in Jan is just a filtered version of "Average Sales of Houses in the US" dataset.

Housing Starts in the United States decreased to 1307 Thousand units in August from 1429 Thousand units in July of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Check out Patriot American Homes reviews by guests and hosts. Compare its performance to the Indianapolis Airbnb market average. Decide if it’s the right choice for you.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Sonoma County, CA (MEDSQUFEE6097) from Jul 2016 to Oct 2025 about Sonoma County, CA; Santa Rosa; square feet; CA; median; and USA.