Chester 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 11,448 100.00% 12,880 100.00%
Married Couple 6,231 54.43% 6,285 48.80%
With Children* 2,872 25.09% 2,581 20.04%
Without Children* 3,359 29.34% 3,704 28.76%
Female Householder, no spouse 2,006 17.52% 2,402 18.65%
With Children* 1,056 9.22% 1,355 10.52%
Without Children* 950 8.30% 1,047 8.13%
Male Householder, no spouse 421 3.68% 656 5.09%
With Children* 145 1.27% 305 2.37%
Without Children* 276 2.41% 351 2.73%
Non-Family Households 2,790 24.37% 3,537 27.46%
Living Alone 2,574 22.48% 3,120 24.22%
Two or More Persons 216 1.89% 417 3.24%

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

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

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy