The Rise of Single People
Historical documentation of the remarkable increase in single people in the U.S.
The third week in September, September 19 through September 25 in 2021, is Unmarried and Single Americans Week. I just call it Singles Week. To celebrate, I’ve created a series of graphs, based on Census Bureau data, demonstrating the dramatic rise in single people over more than half a century.
The Number of People Living Alone Has Skyrocketed Over the Past 60 Years
In 1960, fewer than 7 million Americans lived alone. Those 1-person households accounted for only 13 percent of all households. By 2020, more than five times as many Americans were living alone, 36.2 million. That amounts to nearly three in 10 of all households (28.1 percent).
Not all people who live alone are unmarried. Some are living apart from their spouse or committed romantic partner, sometimes by choice — they like having places of their own. Therefore, these numbers do not tell us the number of people who are not married. More importantly, most people who are not married do not live alone. The graph in the…
