Mercer 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 3,560 100.00% 3,346 100.00%
Married Couple 2,460 69.10% 2,182 65.21%
With Children* 1,397 39.24% 1,055 31.53%
Without Children* 1,063 29.86% 1,127 33.68%
Female Householder, no spouse 164 4.61% 172 5.14%
With Children* 104 2.92% 122 3.65%
Without Children* 60 1.69% 50 1.49%
Male Householder, no spouse 83 2.33% 91 2.72%
With Children* 52 1.46% 63 1.88%
Without Children* 31 0.87% 28 0.84%
Non-Family Households 853 23.96% 901 26.93%
Living Alone 789 22.16% 829 24.78%
Two or More Persons 64 1.80% 72 2.15%

*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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