Middlesex 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 238,833 100.00% 265,815 100.00%
Married Couple 143,344 60.02% 151,461 56.98%
With Children* 64,088 26.83% 73,317 27.58%
Without Children* 79,256 33.18% 78,144 29.40%
Female Householder, no spouse 23,886 10.00% 28,812 10.84%
With Children* 10,148 4.25% 13,598 5.12%
Without Children* 13,738 5.75% 15,214 5.72%
Male Householder, no spouse 8,221 3.44% 10,657 4.01%
With Children* 2,421 1.01% 4,050 1.52%
Without Children* 5,800 2.43% 6,607 2.49%
Non-Family Households 63,382 26.54% 74,885 28.17%
Living Alone 50,903 21.31% 59,544 22.40%
Two or More Persons 12,479 5.22% 15,341 5.77%

*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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