U.S. Households by Size, 1790–2006
Updated August 5, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
The following table shows the number of U.S. households, the percent distribution of the number of people in those households, and the average population per household for select years from 1790 to 2006.
Year | Number of households (in thousands) | Percent distribution of number of households | Avg. pop. per house- hold | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 per- son | 2 persons | 3 per- sons | 4 per- sons | 5 per- sons | 6 per- sons | 7 or more per- sons | |||
1790 (Mar.) | 558 | 3.7% | 7.8% | 11.7% | 13.8% | 13.9% | 13.2% | 35.8% | — |
1890 (June) | 12,690 | 3.6 | 13.2 | 16.7 | 16.8 | 15.1 | 11.6 | 23.0 | 4.93 |
1900 (Mar.) | 15,964 | 5.1 | 15.0 | 17.6 | 16.9 | 14.2 | 10.9 | 20.4 | — |
1930 (Apr.) | 29,905 | 7.9 | 23.4 | 20.8 | 17.5 | 12.0 | 7.6 | 10.9 | 4.11 |
1940 (Apr.) | 34,949 | 7.1 | 24.8 | 22.4 | 18.1 | 11.5 | 6.8 | 9.3 | 3.67 |
1950 (Apr.)1 | 43,468 | 10.9 | 28.8 | 22.6 | 17.8 | 10.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 3.37 |
1955 (Mar.) | 47,788 | 10.9 | 28.5 | 20.4 | 18.9 | 11.1 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 3.33 |
1960 (Mar.) | 52,610 | 13.1 | 27.8 | 18.9 | 17.6 | 11.5 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 3.35 |
1965 (Mar.) | 57,251 | 15.0 | 28.1 | 17.9 | 16.1 | 11.0 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 3.32 |
1970 (Mar.) | 62,874 | 17.0 | 28.8 | 17.3 | 15.8 | 10.4 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 3.14 |
1975 (Mar.) | 71,120 | 19.6 | 30.6 | 17.4 | 15.6 | 9.0 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.94 |
1980 (Mar.) | 80,776 | 22.7 | 31.3 | 17.5 | 15.7 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 2.76 |
1985 (Mar.) | 86,789 | 23.7 | 31.6 | 17.8 | 15.7 | 7.0 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 2.69 |
1990 (Mar.) | 93,347 | 24.6 | 32.2 | 17.2 | 15.5 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.63 |
1995 (Mar.) | 98,990 | 25.0 | 32.1 | 17.0 | 15.5 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.65 |
2000 (Mar.) | 104,705 | 25.5 | 33.1 | 16.4 | 14.6 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.62 |
2003 (Mar.)2 | 111,278 | 26.4 | 33.3 | 16.1 | 14.3 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.57 |
2004 (Mar.)2 | 112,000 | 26.4 | 33.4 | 16.0 | 14.3 | 6.4 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.57 |
2005 (Mar.)2 | 113,300 | 27.0 | 33.0 | 16.0 | 14.0 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — |
2006 (Mar.)2 | 114,400 | 27.0 | 33.0 | 17.0 | 14.0 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — |
1. Covers related persons only; therefore, not strictly comparable with other years.
2. Based on Census 2000 and an expanded sample of households.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Web: www.census.gov .
Families by Type, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 2002 | Household and Family Statistics | Households, Families, and Married Couples, 1890–2002 |