Household Structure & Family Roles

Half of U.S. adults today are married, a share that has remained relatively stable in recent years but dramatically different from the peak of 72% in 1960.

Millennials trail Baby Boomers and Generation Xers in the number of households they head. But Millennial-run households represent the largest group in some key categories, such as the number in poverty or the number headed by a single mother.

The number of U.S. households renting their home increased significantly between 2006 and 2016, as did the share.

Among gun-owning parents with children in their household, 54% say all guns in their home are kept in a locked place and 53% say they are all kept unloaded.

About four-in-ten Americans say they either own a gun themselves or live in a household with guns, and 48% say they grew up in a household with guns.

A half-century after the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage in the United States, 18% of all cohabiting adults have a partner of a different race or ethnicity – similar to the share of U.S. newlyweds who have a spouse of a different race or ethnicity (17%).

The growing prevalence of cellphones comes as the typical American household now contains a wide range of connected devices.

A substantial share of adults in Central and Eastern Europe hold traditional views of women and the family, especially in countries with Orthodox majorities.

Through both recession and recovery, the share of young adults living in their parents’ home continues to rise. As of 2016, 15% of 25- to 35-year-old Millennials were living in their parents’ home.

Roughly half of U.S. cohabiters are younger than 35. But an increasing number of Americans ages 50 and older are in cohabiting relationships.