National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

Document Type

Report

Abstract

Since the mid-1960s, the living arrangements of older adults (those aged 50 and above) have shifted significantly. Today, most older adults either live alone, with a spouse, or with a partner (Ausubel, 2020; Vespa, 2017). Although the proportion of older adults living with a spouse remains stable (Vespa, 2017), a declining share of older adults lives alone (Stepler, 2020) and an increasing share are in multigenerational households (Washington, Gryn, Anderson, & Kreider, 2023). However, less is known about other living arrangements, such as living with roommates (home sharing) or siblings. Previous research by the NCFMR revealed an increase in the proportion of older adults living with a sibling or a roommate from 2015 to 2020, with the largest growth observed among those living with a roommate. In this profile, we update these findings using 2022 data from the American Community Survey 1-year estimates. We also assess the age of the youngest roommate in the household along with the marital status and race/ethnicity of the household heads in these living arrangements. Living with a roommate and living with a sibling are not mutually exclusive arrangements; those who live with both are represented in the each of the trendlines in Figure 1. This profile is an update of FP-18-19 & FP-22-32.

In the ACS, residents in the household are identified by their relationship to the household head (the reference person). Figure 1 is a list of all the possible relationships with those used in this Family Profile in brown and orange. Households with reference persons who are 50 years or older and who have either a brother or sister in the house (any age) or a roommate or housemate (who is above the age of 18) are the focus of this Profile.

Publication Date

2024

Publisher

National Center for Family and Marriage Research

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