UNITED STATES — 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%.
Households:
- In 2025, there were 39.7 million one-person households, accounting for 29% of all households, up from 20% in 1975.
- The share of householders aged 65 and older increased from 1 in 5 in 1975 to over 1 in 4 in 2025.
Families:
- The percentage of households with children under 18 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 aged 18 to 24 lived in their parents’ home, compared with 16% of adults aged 25 to 34.
These statistics are from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) for 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.
