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The Growing,
Shrinking American Household The 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. |
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