New Hanover 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 48,139 100.00% 68,183 100.00%
Married Couple 24,723 51.36% 31,722 46.52%
With Children* 10,343 21.49% 12,163 17.84%
Without Children* 14,380 29.87% 19,559 28.69%
Female Householder, no spouse 6,383 13.26% 7,831 11.49%
With Children* 3,631 7.54% 4,704 6.90%
Without Children* 2,752 5.72% 3,127 4.59%
Male Householder, no spouse 1,294 2.69% 2,046 3.00%
With Children* 522 1.08% 944 1.38%
Without Children* 772 1.60% 1,102 1.62%
Non-Family Households 15,739 32.69% 26,584 38.99%
Living Alone 12,434 25.83% 19,673 28.85%
Two or More Persons 3,305 6.87% 6,911 10.14%

*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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