The changing structure of the American family, especially couples having fewer children and growing numbers of single-parent families, has shrunk the average household's size to a record low, the Census Bureau said.
The average number of people per household was 2.62 in 1989, compared with 2.76 in 1980 and 3.14 in 1970, the bureau said last week in a new report, while the number of households grew to 92.8 million, up 12.1 million since 1980.Households, as defined by the Census Bureau, are made up of the person or persons occupying a housing unit.
Family demographer Steve Rawlings, who conducted the survey, said while no state level data was compiled, a Census Bureau report released last spring showed that Utah led the nation in household size with 3.17 persons. From 1980 to 1988, the state's household size declined slightly from 3.2 to 3.17 persons per household. The next closest was Hawaii at 2.99 persons per household.
Among factors contributing to the declining size in households, the bureau said, are "the well-recognized trends toward fewer children per family, more one-parent families and increased numbers of people living alone."
It said the tendency toward smaller households is expected to prevail through the end of the century unless there is a substantial increase in fertility rates or a significant rise in the number of individuals and families doubling up with friends and relatives.