The Hard Facts About Singles

First off, my apologies that Singletude was silent yesterday. I've been having unexplained Internet connectivity problems intermittently for a few weeks now. If you'd like to ensure that you're informed when a new blog is posted, please subscribe to the RSS feed.

To kick off Singletude's inaugural blog, I thought it would be appropriate to consider the hard facts about singlehood in the U.S. No editorializing, no opining. Just a presentation of the statistics that shape single life in this country:


--Total U.S. population, 15 years and older: 239 million1
--Number of American singles*: 118 million1
--Percentage of Americans single: 50%1

--Total U.S. households: 112 million1
--Number of single-headed U.S. households: 56 million1
--Percentage of U.S. households single-headed: 50%1
--Number of households headed by singles living alone: 30 million1
--Percentage of households headed by singles living alone: 27%1

--Percentage of U.S. population never married: 31%1
--Percentage divorced or separated: 13%1
--Percentage widowed: 6%1

--Percentage of single adults over 65 years: 16%2
--Percentage of single adults 18-65 years: 84%2

--Median age of males at first marriage: 273
--Median age of females at first marriage: 253

--Ratio of single males to single females: 86/1002

--Percentage of singles in a committed relationship: 26%4
--Percentage of uncommitted singles actively seeking a partner: 16%4
--Percentage of uncommitted singles not actively seeking a partner: 55%4

--Percentage of U.S. population with bachelor's degree, 25 years and older: 27%1
--Percentage of single population with bachelor's degree: 23%2

--Percentage of U.S. workforce comprised of singles: 44%5
--Percentage less earned income of singles: 20-25%6,7,8

--Percentage of Americans uninsured under age 65: 17%9
--Percentage of uninsured single: 60%9

--Percentage of homebuyers single: 40%8

--Percentage of congressmen married: 85%10


Okay, I know you're waiting for me to sneak in a few editorial comments between the links, but I'm a woman of my word. There'll be no waxing pedantic here...That's for tomorrow. :)


*For our purposes, "single" is considered synonymous with "unmarried." However, Singletude acknowledges that a substantial portion of unmarried people do not consider themselves single because they are involved in long-term relationships.

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau 2006 American Community Survey
2. U.S. Census Bureau
3. Infoplease
4. The Boston Globe
5. U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. Ask Dr. Salary
7. Social Science Research Network
8. Unmarried America
9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics 2005 National Health Survey
10. Unmarried America