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The Historic Rise of One-Person Households: 1850 -2010
The Historic Rise of One-Person Households: 1850 -2010
Introduction
The growth in one -person households in the United States since the mid 1800s is one of the largest changes in household composition during this time. While in 18 50, about 2 percent of all households contained one person, this rose to 27 percent by 2010 (see Figure 1) . This extraordinary growth likely reflects a variety of fac tors, including gains in life expectancy , improved health at older ages, improve d economic well -being of the older population, an increasing age at first marriage in the latter 20 th century, and shifts in the acceptability of young women living alone.
Related Information
WORKING PAPER
Families and Households Working Papers
Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
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