Household composition statistics describe who lives together, how households are classified, and how living arrangements differ across the United States. The 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) estimates below cover 131,332,360 households and distinguish household relationships from housing structure and tenure.
Key Household Composition Statistics
These are the most useful headline figures for the United States in 2023:
- The United States had 131,332,360 households in 2023, according to the ACS 1-year estimate.
- Family households numbered 84,045,684 in the United States in 2023, while nonfamily households numbered 47,286,676.
- Married-couple family households numbered 61,421,188 in the United States in 2023.
- The average household contained 2.49 people in the United States in 2023.
- The average family contained 3.09 people in the United States in 2023.
- Nonfamily households with one person numbered 37,840,069 in the United States in 2023.
- Households with the householder’s own children under 18 numbered 33,636,388 in the United States in 2023.
- Households with at least one person under 18 represented 28.8% of U.S. households in 2023.
- Households with at least one person aged 60 or older represented 42.1% of U.S. households in 2023.
- Households with at least one person aged 65 or older represented 32.2% of U.S. households in 2023.
- The population living in U.S. households was 326,701,646 people in 2023.
- Female householders living alone numbered 20,679,018 in the United States in 2023.
- People identified as opposite-sex spouses numbered 60,556,168 in U.S. households in 2023.
- People identified as opposite-sex unmarried partners numbered 9,029,662 in U.S. households in 2023.
- Children of the householder numbered 92,330,935 people in the United States in 2023.
- Biological children of the householder numbered 86,518,491 in U.S. households in 2023.
- People in group quarters numbered 8,213,250 in the United States in 2023.
Contents
- National household composition and family structure
- Household size statistics by family status
- Living arrangements and relationship categories
- Children, relatives and nonrelatives in households
- Age, housing structure and tenure
- How to interpret household composition data
National Household Composition Statistics and Family Structure
The ACS classifies households as family or nonfamily households. In 2023, family households were 84,045,684 and nonfamily households were 47,286,676; the supplied Census-derived comparison describes family households as 1.78 times as numerous as nonfamily households.
| 2023 U.S. household category | Estimated households |
|---|---|
| All households | 131,332,360 |
| Family households | 84,045,684 |
| Nonfamily households | 47,286,676 |
| Married-couple family households | 61,421,188 |
| Male householder, no spouse present | 6,750,842 |
Source: B11016 Household Type by Household Size, 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables and S1101 Households and Families, 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Subject Tables. These are ACS 1-year survey estimates, and family classification follows Census definitions.
Households with the householder’s own children under 18 numbered 33,636,388 in 2023. Looking at age presence rather than family role, 28.8% of households had at least one person under 18, while 42.1% had at least one person aged 60 or older and 32.2% had at least one person aged 65 or older.
Household Size Statistics by Family and Nonfamily Status
Household size separates the family and nonfamily categories into more specific arrangements. The average household size was 2.49 people, compared with an average family size of 3.09 people, in the 2023 United States ACS estimate.
| Household size | Family households | Nonfamily households |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | Not listed in supplied table | 37,840,069 |
| 2 people | 37,126,085 | 7,857,213 |
| 3 people | 18,946,383 | 982,477 |
| 4 people | 15,705,195 | 419,798 |
| 5 people | 7,415,129 | 118,308 |
| 6 people | 2,924,708 | 39,783 |
| 7 or more people | 1,928,184 | 29,028 |
Source: B11016 Household Type by Household Size, 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables. The supplied data identify the nonfamily one-person count but do not provide a family one-person row here, so the table does not infer one.
The largest listed family-household category was two people, at 37,126,085 households. Nonfamily households were concentrated in one-person arrangements, with 37,840,069 such households, while every supplied nonfamily category from three people upward was below one million.
Household Composition Data by Living Arrangement and Relationship
The 2023 ACS counted 326,701,646 people living in households and 131,332,360 householders. The householder is the reference person used for the relationship categories below; these counts describe people, not separate households.
| Relationship or living arrangement | People in U.S. households, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Male householders | 64,551,640 |
| Male householders living alone | 17,161,051 |
| Male householders not living alone | 47,390,589 |
| Female householders | 66,780,720 |
| Female householders living alone | 20,679,018 |
| Female householders not living alone | 46,101,702 |
| Opposite-sex spouses | 60,556,168 |
| Same-sex spouses | 784,452 |
| Opposite-sex unmarried partners | 9,029,662 |
| Same-sex unmarried partners | 538,350 |
Source: B09019 Household Type (Including Living Alone) by Relationship, 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables. The categories are relationship-to-householder classifications.
Female householders living alone outnumbered male householders living alone by 3,517,967 people, a derived difference from the two ACS estimates. The calculation is not a Census-published standalone estimate and inherits the sampling error of the underlying survey figures.
Children, Relatives and Nonrelatives in Household Composition Statistics
Children and other relatives show how household composition extends beyond the family-household headline. In 2023, children of the householder numbered 92,330,935 people, including 86,518,491 biological children, 2,056,466 adopted children and 3,755,978 stepchildren.
| Relationship to householder | People, United States, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Children of the householder | 92,330,935 |
| Biological children | 86,518,491 |
| Adopted children | 2,056,466 |
| Stepchildren | 3,755,978 |
| Grandchildren | 7,747,309 |
| Brothers or sisters | 3,704,436 |
| Parents | 3,904,445 |
| Parents-in-law | 989,693 |
| Other relatives | 1,340,931 |
| Foster children | 245,870 |
| Other nonrelatives | 9,626,856 |
Source: B09019 Household Type (Including Living Alone) by Relationship, 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables. The supplied relationship counts are ACS 1-year estimates and refer to relationship with the householder.
The supplied derived comparison places the biological-child count at 42.0 times the adopted-child count in 2023. That ratio is calculated from ACS estimates and is not a rate, probability or measure of adoption risk.
Grandchildren numbered 7,747,309, while parents of the householder numbered 3,904,445 and brothers or sisters numbered 3,704,436. Foster children numbered 245,870, and other nonrelatives numbered 9,626,856, illustrating why household composition is broader than a simple parent-child classification.
Household Composition by Age, Housing Structure and Tenure
Age and living-alone measures provide another view of household structure. Households headed by someone living alone represented 28.8% of U.S. households in 2023, while households headed by someone aged 65 or older living alone represented 11.6%.
Housing structure is related context, but it is not the same thing as family or relationship composition. In 2023, one-unit structures accounted for 68.6% of households, structures with two or more units accounted for 26.1%, and mobile homes and all other unit types accounted for 5.2%.
| Housing context | Share, United States, 2023 |
|---|---|
| One-unit structures | 68.6% of households |
| Structures with two or more units | 26.1% of households |
| Mobile homes and all other unit types | 5.2% of households |
| Owner-occupied housing units | 65.2% of occupied units |
| Renter-occupied housing units | 34.8% of occupied units |
Source: S1101 Households and Families, 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates Subject Tables. Structure type and tenure are housing measures, not household relationship categories.
Among households with the householder’s own children under 18, 21.1% had only children under 6, 19.3% had both children under 6 and children aged 6–17, and 59.6% had only children aged 6–17. The denominator for all three percentages is households with own children under 18, not all U.S. households.
How to Interpret Household Composition Data and Living Arrangements
The ACS household population and group-quarters population are separate Census living-location categories. In 2023, the household population was 326.7 million and the group-quarters population was 8.2 million, based on the unrounded underlying counts of 326,701,646 and 8,213,250.
Group-quarters residents are outside the household universe. Household means all people occupying a housing unit, so family, nonfamily, relationship, tenure and structure categories should not be treated as interchangeable measures.
The figures in this overview are 2023 ACS 1-year survey estimates, not exact administrative counts. Small differences should not be treated as exact, and margins of error are available in the cited Census tables.
For definition and scope context, the Census also provides America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2023. That is a separate Current Population Survey program and is included here for definitions and scope context only; the numeric facts above come from the identified 2023 ACS tables.