Out of hundreds of American cities examined by a new study, only one saw the number of married households with children increase
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- US cities saw an increase in the number of people living alone between 2016 and 2023, a new study found.
- Within the 342 largest US cities, the rate of single people living alone jumped to 28%.
- Meanwhile, only Odessa, Texas, saw an uptick in the number of married families with children.
Amid declining birth and marriage rates nationwide, it's no surprise that America's cities are seeing an uptick in in the number of people living alone.
A new study by SmartAsset analyzed the household makeups in hundreds of US cities and determined that the rate of single people living alone has jumped to 28% between 2016 and 2021. And of 342 of the largest US cities for which data was available, SmartAsset identified just one city that saw an increase in married families with children in that five-year period: Odessa, Texas.
The study found that "traditional families," made up of married couples with children, were most common in Frisco, Texas; Fishers, Indiana; Fremont, California; and Elk Grove, California. In each of those cities, traditional families made up one-third of all households, according to the study.
Meanwhile, the rate of single people living alone swung from 24% in 2016 to 28% in 2021. The study found that the increase was sharpest in Arlington, Virginia, where the proportion of single-person households shot from 11% to 41% in that five-year period. Cities like Alexandria, Virginia; College Station, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; and Ann Arbor, Michigan all saw similar increases.
The study also identified cities with the largest share of single-woman households and single-man households: In the DC area, over 25% of households are made up of single women. Meanwhile in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, nearly one-quarter of all households are made up of single men.
SmartAsset looked at household data from the US Census, and reviewed all American cities with populations greater than 100,000.