Some of the living alone is due to
- changes in lifestyle. 4 or 5 decades ago, young people shared apartments or homes, and that occurs less often now. Today they prefer to live alone.
- young people today go to college and delay career incomes, marriage and family life. They live alone. In 1970, just 11% of adults had a college degree. Today, 43% of those under 35 have a college degree. The high prevalence of college attendance delays at lot of activities – now – until later in life.
- As the baby boom ages, women live on average up to 7 years longer than men – and as widows end up living alone, typically. This increases the percent living alone.
- people without kids are often unmarried. “Census data consistently shows that adults without children under 18 have a higher percentage of single-person households. This is particularly true for younger adults (who may be delaying parenthood) and older adults (widowed or never married).” and “The absence of children removes the primary reason for sharing a household with dependents, making solo living or non-family cohabitation more common among this group”
