What is the difference between household size and family size

For detailed information about how the Census Bureau tabulates family data, for the ACS and other products, see the Families and Living Arrangements page. From the Census online glossary , a definition of householder : The person, or one of the people, in whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented.

If there is no such person present, any household member 15 years old and over can serve as the householder. Two types of householders are distinguished: a family householder and a nonfamily householder.

A family householder is a householder living with one or more people related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption. The householder and all people in the household related to him are family members.

A nonfamily householder is a householder living alone or with nonrelatives only. The tables below include "family type" as one of the factors for reporting data. Family types include "married-couple", "female householder, no husband present", and "male householder, no wife present.

But they also reflect social and economic changes. An economic squeeze may prolong the time adult children live at home; a rise in the divorce rate may increase the number of single-person households. Relaxed social rules about marriage may boost the number of unmarried couples setting up house. In the United States, the mix of household types has changed enormously over the last three decades.

One of the most notable changes is the declining proportion of family households and the rise in single-person households. In , 81 percent of all households were family households, but this was down to 68 percent by The retreat from marriage and the general aging of the population are increasing the number of single-person households.

Americans are waiting longer to get married, if they choose to marry at all. Married couples are more likely to get divorced than they were in the s. In , 26 percent of all U. Many European countries have seen a similar rise in single-person households for similar reasons. Sources: U. The U. They waited longer to marry than the previous generation, and they were more likely to divorce. Americans born after the baby boom are delaying marriage even longer. In , 89 percent of women ages 25 to 29 had been married at least once.

In , only 60 percent of women ages 25 to 29 had been married. Census Bureau. Those two terms -- household and family -- are often used interchangeably, but the Census Bureau draws a careful distinction :. They may or may not be related. Think of it this way: All families are also households, but not all households are families. The federal census counted