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The median age at first marriage increased to 28.2 for men and 26.1 for women in 2010, an increase from 26.8 and 25.1 in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This increase is a continuation of a long-term trend that has been noted since the mid-1950s. In addition, the overall percentage of adults who were married declined to 54.1 percent in 2010 from 57.3 percent in 2000.
According to America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2010, the average household size declined to 2.59 in 2010, from 2.62 people in 2000. This is partly because of the increase in one-person households, which rose from 25 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2010, more than double the percentage in 1960 (13 percent).
These data come from the 2010 Current Population Survey, which provides a look at the socioeconomic characteristics of families and households at the national level.
“This series of tables highlights some of the changes in household composition over the last decade,” said Rose Kreider, a family demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau.
Even though the overall household size declined between 2000 and 2010, some household subgroups increased in size. For example, households where the householder had less than a high school degree increased to an average of 2.87 people in 2010 from 2.67 people in 2001.
Other highlights:
The Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey was conducted in February, March and April of 2010 for a nationwide sample of about 100,000 addresses. Statistics from surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. For more information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates, including standard errors and confidence intervals, see Appendix G at <http://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar10.pdf> [PDF].