Cook County

HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY STRUCTURE

A household is defined as one or more people living in a residence. A family is more than one person living together, either married or of the same bloodline. The head of a household is one of the people who owns or rents the residence and was indicated first on the Census questionnaire.

The tendency for people to marry at an older age and the number of married people getting divorced may have contributed to the overall drop in married couples. Also, it may more culturally acceptable for people to not get married at all or to have non-traditional relationships.

Household Types, 1990-2000
1990 2000
Number Percent Number Percent
Total Households 1,879,488 100.00% 1,974,181 100.00%
Married Couple 878,032 46.72% 868,244 43.98%
With Children* 399,957 21.28% 415,813 21.06%
Without Children* 478,075 25.44% 452,431 22.92%
Female Householder, no spouse 289,381 15.40% 307,079 15.55%
With Children* 150,395 8.00% 158,874 8.05%
Without Children* 138,986 7.39% 148,205 7.51%
Male Householder, no spouse 81,055 4.31% 94,269 4.78%
With Children* 26,954 1.43% 35,262 1.79%
Without Children* 54,101 2.88% 59,007 2.99%
Non-Family Households 631,020 33.57% 704,589 35.69%
Living Alone 530,253 28.21% 580,001 29.38%
Two or More Persons 100,767 5.36% 124,588 6.31%

*In this table, children are people under age 18.

Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).

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