Blog 2

1)     Looking at the first three highlights on page 1, what types of families/households have declined since 1970 and which have increased?

One-person households increased by 10 percentage points between 1970 and 2012 from 17% to 27%. The share of household that were married couples under 18 halved from 40% to 20%. 66% of households in 2012 were household’s down from 81% in 1970.

2)     Choose one highlight and paraphrase (write in your own words) the changes using the percentages and years provided.

One person households were as little at 17% in 1970. In 2012 one person households have increased to 27%.

3)     According to highlight 4, are families getting larger or smaller? Again in your own words describe how family size has changed using percentages and years.

Families are getting smaller. In 1970 family size was 3.1 persons. In 2012 the average person per household is 2.6 persons.

4)     According to the report: what is the U.S. Census definition of a family and what is the definition of a household? 

According to the report a family has at least two members related by birth, marriage, or adoption, one of whom is the householder. A household contains one or more people. Everyone living in a housing unit makes up a household. One of the people who owns or rents the residence is designated as the householder.

5) Now scroll down to Table 1: Households by Type and Selected Characteristics: ACS 2011. 

5a. Carefully read the column and row names to determine the total number of "white alone" married couples families and the number of "Black or African American alone" married couple families? The term "alone' refers to families that are not interracial.

5b. What is the total number of NON family households with just 1 member? (These are the number of people who live alone).

The total number of non family households with just one member is 31,886,794.

So far, which fact is the most surprising to you? Please be specific and use the numbers, percentages, and language of the Census report.

Im surprised at how many non family households there are. The total number is 38,907,719 and that seems like a huge number of non family households.

6) Next, scroll down to Figure 1: Households by Type, 1970 to 2012: CPS (In percent).

Take a few minutes to note the trends over time.

6a) Of the six categories of family and household types shown, which family type has changed the most and how. Use specific years and percentages. 

Other non family households was at 1.7 percent in 1970. That total percentage has almost tripled to 6.1 percent in 2012.

6b) Comparing men and women, who is more likely to live alone and try to make an argument as to why.

In 1970 women living alone almost doubles men leaving alone with 5.6 of men living alone at 11.5 percent of women living alone. Although the difference becomes smaller over the years ending in 2012 with 12.3 percent of men living alone and 15.2 percent of women living alone, women are more likely to live alone. This may be because men prefer to have a roommate while women may prefer to live alone.  

6c) What is the Source of the data in Figure 1?

The source of the data is the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, selected years, 1970 to 2012.

7) Reflecting on what you have learned about changes in families and households in the U.S., how do these data compare with your own experience and knowledge of families. For example, did you know certain family types were on the decline or on the rise? What do you expect will happen in the future to one of these family types, based on the trends shown in Figure 1. In other words make an educated prediction of how you think one family/household type will look in 2020 and why?

I think one family households have increased since 1970 but I think that they will begin to decline because of income. With the economy it might not be beneficial for people to be living on their own. It wouldn’t make sense for people to waste their money on living alone when they can have roommates or live with their parents for longer.