Census Bureau: Singles Are Increasing Their Influence in America

In preparation for "National Singles Week" to be celebrated the third week of September (16th through the 22nd), the U.S. Census Bureau has published a number of astonishing statistics regarding the 92 million single Americans across the country.

Singles Americans now comprise 42% of the population over the age of 18. Out of the 92 million singles, 54% are women and 60% have never been married. One quarter (25%) of U.S. singles are divorced and 15% are widowed.

There are 15 million Americans over the age of 65 who are unmarried and single. They comprise about 16% of all unattached members in U.S. society.

According to the Census Bureau, for every 86 unmarried men, there are 100 unmarried women in the United States.

The number of households that are headed by single men or single women has reached 50.7 million. This translates into 44% of all U.S. households being maintained by single individuals. Out of these, an astonishing 30.5 million live alone and constitute more than one-quarter (27%) of all households. This percentage has increased by 10% since 1970.

With respect to children and parenting, almost one third (32%) of all births in the U.S. were given by single women. There are now 12.9 million single American parents living with their children. The majority of these, 10.4 million (80.6%) were single mothers. Almost 1 in 10 (9%) of U.S. households are headed by a single parent. This figure has practically doubled since 1970 (5%).

More than a third (39%) of all U.S. households with opposite-sex, unmarried partners have children.

Almost three-quarters (712,000) of a million individuals were unmarried grandparents that were the principal caregivers for their grandchildren. This is almost one third (30%) of all grandparents that were responsible for their grandchildren.

The number of unmarried-partner households stands at 5 million. According to the Bureau, this is defined as a householder living with someone of the opposite sex that was been identified as the unmarried partner.

As per the report, there are now 904 dating service establishments in the United States. These organizations, which also include internet-based businesses, reported revenues of $489 million dollars and employed approximately 4,300 individuals.

More than one-third (36%) of voters in the 2004 presidential election were not married.

With respect to education, 83% of all American singles (25 and over) had at least a high school education. Almost one-quarter (24%), held bachelor's or higher degree at the end of 2006.

One aspect emphasized in the report, is that many Americans who are "single" do not identify as such because they are parents, may have a partner or are widows. This is why "National Singles Week" is also known as "Unmarried and Single Americans Week"

The U.S. Census Bureau analysts emphasized that some of the data originated from several sources and therefore may be subject to sampling variability and error.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Press Release: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/010329.html