(TargetLiberty.org) – The holiday season is on us again – and more Americans than ever could be spending it alone. The latest census data shows that the number of single-person households in the US has risen to a new high.
More than a quarter of American households are made up of people living alone as the ranks of senior citizens swell and younger Americans continue to delay life milestones that previous generations reached earlier in life.https://t.co/BwhnQIHwnR
— The Hill (@thehill) December 1, 2021
On November 29, the US Census Bureau issued its latest America’s Families and Living Arrangements report, and it shows that the way we live continues to change. The percentage of adults living with a spouse has fallen to just 50%, down 2% from a decade ago, while those living with an unmarried partner has risen from 7% to 8%. That’s probably not too surprising – many people now don’t see marriage as important. What’s more worrying, though, is that a growing number of American adults aren’t living with anyone at all.
As of 2021 more than a quarter of all American households only have a single occupant. That’s 37 million people who live alone. Some of that could be down to the growing number of senior citizens as life expectancy rises, but demographers think it’s mostly because people are postponing major life decisions – like getting married or having children – until later.
In 2020, 3.6 million babies were born in the US. That’s down 17% from 2007, the year before a major financial crisis hit. The generation that’s reached adulthood since then feels financially precarious, struggling to save and worrying about buying a home; they don’t feel secure enough to settle down and start a family. Is this why our society feels increasingly antisocial?
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