The U.S. Census Bureau reports that average new
single-family homes are almost 1.5 times the size of 1970 homes (2,100
square feet vs. 1,500 square feet). This trend suggests that families
want more living space than they did 30 years ago. But do American
families need more space? The Census Bureau reports that the average
household size has declined over the past 30 years, from 3.1 to 2.6
persons per household. That�s a decline of about one person for
every two households.
The shrinking size of households is evident
among whites and blacks, but not among Hispanics and Asians. In fact,
the average number of persons per household
has increased among Hispanics from 3.0 in 1975 to 3.5 today. Among
Asian-Americans, the number of persons per household has remained
steady at about 3.2 since 1990. Data for earlier years are not
available.
Among whites and blacks, on the other hand,
there has been a decline in persons per household. In 1975, there were
2.8 people in each white household, compared with 3.0 people in each
black household. About 25 years later, the persons per household has
dropped to 2.5 in white households and to 2.8 in black households.
