New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in 2025, less than half of U.S. households were married couples, a decline from nearly two-thirds in 1975. According to estimates released on December 2, 2025, only 47% of households consisted of married couples, compared to 66% fifty years ago.
The share of married-couple households with their own children has also dropped over time. In 1975, more than half (54%) included their own children under age 18; by 2025, this figure had fallen to about 37%.
One-person households have increased significantly. In 2025, there were an estimated 39.7 million one-person households, making up 29% of all households—up from just 20% in 1975.
Householders aged 65 and older now make up over one-quarter of all householders in the United States, rising from one in five in 1975.
The percentage of families with their own children under age 18 at home declined from 54% in 1975 to just under two-fifths (39%) in 2025.
Median ages at first marriage have risen as well: men now marry for the first time at a median age of 30.8 and women at a median age of 28.4. This is an increase from median ages of 23.5 for men and 21.1 for women reported fifty years earlier.
More than half (58%) of adults ages 18 to 24 lived with their parents in 2025; among adults ages 25 to 34, this figure was much lower at just sixteen percent.
These statistics are based on the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) for both years cited. The CPS ASEC has been collecting information about American families for over six decades.
Further details about household characteristics and living arrangements can be found on the Families and Living Arrangements page at census.gov. Technical documentation on methodology and confidentiality protection is available through the Census Bureau’s website: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar25.pdf.
According to the Census Bureau, “All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing, and, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are statistically significant at the ten percent significance level.”
