Changes in the American Household

Data from the recent census reveal a significant change in the American household in the past ten years. The census defines a "family household" as married couples, single parents and people who are living with other relatives. While the proportion of family households has dropped from 70 percent to 68 percent over the past decade, the share of non-family households has grown from 30 percent to 32 percent. These changes may not appear to be very significant. However, those two percentage point shifts mean that, in relation to 1990, we now have about 6 million more households classified as non-family households, bringing the total of non-family households to 34 million. These families have more leisure time, greater flexibility for vacation travel as well as different needs for credit than family households.