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.

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.

Average number of persons per household by household composition, number of children and age of youngest child

This table contains 12 series, with data for years 1881 - 1971 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 items: Canada ...) Estimates (4 items: Total number of households; Average persons per family; Average persons per household; Total number of families ...) Type of area (3 items: Total urban and rural areas; Urban; Rural ...).

In 2024, 34.59 percent of all households in the United States were two person households. In 1970, this figure was at 28.92 percent. Single households Single mother households are usually the most common households with children under 18 years old found in the United States. As of 2021, the District of Columbia and North Dakota had the highest share of single-person households in the United States. Household size in the United States has decreased over the past century, due to customs and traditions changing. Families are typically more nuclear, whereas in the past, multigenerational households were more common. Furthermore, fertility rates have also decreased, meaning that women do not have as many children as they used to. Average households in Utah Out of all states in the U.S., Utah was reported to have the largest average household size. This predominately Mormon state has about three million inhabitants. The Church of the Latter-Day Saints, or Mormonism, plays a large role in Utah, and can contribute to the high birth rate and household size in Utah. The Church of Latter-Day Saints promotes having many children and tight-knit families. Furthermore, Utah has a relatively young population, due to Mormons typically marrying and starting large families younger than those in other states.

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.

Poverty Status Of Families By Household Type By Number Of Persons In Family Report based on US Census and American Community Survey Data.

Dataset population: Households

Ethnic group of HRP

Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.

The concept of a Household Reference Person (HRP) was introduced in the 2001 Census (in common with other government surveys in 2001/2) to replace the traditional concept of the 'head of the household'. HRPs provide an individual person within a household to act as a reference point for producing further derived statistics and for characterising a whole household according to characteristics of the chosen reference person.

Number of persons per room

The number of persons per room is equal to the number of usual residents in a household divided by the number of rooms in that household's accommodation.

The definition of a room does not include bathrooms, toilets, halls or landings, or rooms that can only be used for storage. All other rooms, for example kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, utility rooms, studies and conservatories are counted.

If two rooms have been converted into one, they are counted as one room. Rooms shared between a number of households, for example a shared kitchen, are not counted.

Australia Average Number of Persons in Household: Non Family: Group Households data was reported at 2.400 Person in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.500 Person for 2018. Australia Average Number of Persons in Household: Non Family: Group Households data is updated yearly, averaging 2.400 Person from Jun 2001 (Median) to 2020, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.600 Person in 2016 and a record low of 2.200 Person in 2001. Australia Average Number of Persons in Household: Non Family: Group Households data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.H037: Survey of Income and Housing: Average Number of Persons in Household: by Age.

In the observed period, the number of Polish household members decreased. According to the data, the average number of family members amounted to 2.42 in 2023.

Number of persons in the household and meeting basic household needs and unexpected expenses by First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit, age group and gender, Canada, provinces and territories.

This is a special extract of the 2000 Census 5-Percent Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) created by the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA). The file combines the individual 5-percent state files for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as released by the United States Census Bureau into a single analysis file. The file contains information on all households that contain at least one person aged 65 years or more in residence as of the 2000 Census enumeration. The file contains individual records on all persons aged 65 and older living in households as well as individual records for all other members residing in each of these households. Consequently, this file can be used to examine both the characteristics of the elderly in the United States as well as the characteristics of individuals who co-reside with persons aged 65 and older as of the year 2000. All household variables from the household-specific "Household record" of the 2000 PUMS are appended to the end of each individual level record. This file is not a special product of the Census Bureau and is not a resample of the PUMS data specific to the elderly population. While it is comparable to the 1990 release CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1990: [UNITED STATES]: PUBLIC USE MICRODATA SAMPLE: 3-PERCENT ELDERLY SAMPLE (ICPSR 6219), the sampling procedures and weights for the 2000 file reflect the methodology that applies to the 5-percent PUMS release CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 2000 [UNITED STATES]: PUBLIC USE MICRODATA SAMPLE: 5-PERCENT SAMPLE (ICPSR 13568). Person variables cover age, sex, relationship to householder, educational attainment, school enrollment, race, Hispanic origin, ancestry, language spoken at home, citizenship, place of birth, year of immigration, place of residence in 1985, marital status, number of children ever born, military service, mobility and personal care limitation, work limitation status, employment status, occupation, industry, class of worker, hours worked last week, weeks worked in 1989, usual hours worked per week, temporary absence from work, place of work, time of departure for work, travel time to work, means of transportation to work, total earnings, total income, wages and salary income, farm and nonfarm self-employment income, Social Security income, public assistance income, retirement income, and rent, dividends, and net rental income. Housing variables include area type, state and area of residence, farm/nonfarm status, type of structure, year structure was built, vacancy and boarded-up status, number of rooms and bedrooms, presence or absence of a telephone, presence or absence of complete kitchen and plumbing facilities, type of sewage facilities, type of water source, type of heating fuel used, property value, tenure, year moved into house/apartment, type of household/family, type of group quarters, household language, number of persons in the household, number of persons and workers in the family, status of mortgage, second mortgage, and home equity loan, number of vehicles available, household income, sales of agricultural products, payments for rent, mortgage and property tax, condominium fees, mobile home costs, and cost of electricity, water, heating fuel, and flood/fire/hazard insurance.

Number of persons in the household and meeting basic household needs and unexpected expenses by Aboriginal identity, age group and sex, population aged 15 years and over, Canada, provinces and territories.

Abstract (en): This collection contains individual-level and 1-percent national sample data from the 1960 Census of Population and Housing conducted by the Census Bureau. It consists of a representative sample of the records from the 1960 sample questionnaires. The data are stored in 30 separate files, containing in total over two million records, organized by state. Some files contain the sampled records of several states while other files contain all or part of the sample for a single state. There are two types of records stored in the data files: one for households and one for persons. Each household record is followed by a variable number of person records, one for each of the household members. Data items in this collection include the individual responses to the basic social, demographic, and economic questions asked of the population in the 1960 Census of Population and Housing. Data are provided on household characteristics and features such as the number of persons in household, number of rooms and bedrooms, and the availability of hot and cold piped water, flush toilet, bathtub or shower, sewage disposal, and plumbing facilities. Additional information is provided on tenure, gross rent, year the housing structure was built, and value and location of the structure, as well as the presence of air conditioners, radio, telephone, and television in the house, and ownership of an automobile. Other demographic variables provide information on age, sex, marital status, race, place of birth, nationality, education, occupation, employment status, income, and veteran status. The data files were obtained by ICPSR from the Center for Social Analysis, Columbia University. About 600,000 households and group quarters segments, and about 1,800,000 persons in the United States. One sample household for every 100 households, and persons in group quarters in the United States. Records have been sampled on a household-by-household basis so that the characteristics of family members may be interrelated and related to the characteristics of the housing unit. 2006-01-18 File CB7756.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

SA3 based data for Household Composition by Number of Persons Usually Resident, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of occupied private dwellings. Excludes 'Visitors only' and 'Other non-classifiable' households. Comprises 'Lone person' and 'Group households'. The data is by SA3 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census.

Presents socio-demographic information of York Region’s population and is aggregated from Statistics Canada’s Census data. For reference purposes, York Region data is compared to those of Ontario, Canada, the Greater Toronto Area and York Region local municipalities.

A map showing the average number of persons per private household from the 2006 Statistics Canada Census Data.Size: 11" x 17" Colour: Full ColourFormat: PDF

Average number of persons per household by household composition, number of children and working status within households

SA2 based data for Household Composition by Number of Persons Usually Resident, in General Community Profile (GCP), 2016 Census. Count of occupied private dwellings. Excludes 'Visitors only' and 'Other non-classifiable' households. Comprises 'Lone person' and 'Group households'. The data is by SA2 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census.

National Immigrant Survey: Households by size and persons born abroad. National.